What Lies Beneath
by jesm90
Summary: After 5 years Draco Malfoy is being released from Azkaban. Along with the dangers of being a traitor to the Death Eaters, he's no longer accepted anywhere in the wizarding world. He's aware that many of his choices are going to come back to haunt him. He definitely didn't believe one of those choices would be Hermione Granger and her son. Will Draco be able to face the truth?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.k. Rowling.**

**What Lies Beneath**

**Hermione:**

The day was breezy and cool, flowers and trees blossoming all around her. Distantly she could hear children playing and laughing. She leaned forward and put her head into her hands trying to shake off the anxiety that had been plaguing her all day. She had gotten the owl that morning while she was making breakfast for her and her son. It had started out as any other day in her life. She would wake up much too early, take in the time on the small bedside clock and then groan and try to still her nerves. It was safe to say that a lot of witches and wizards had PTSD after the war but she wondered if they all suffered as severely as she did.

She had stayed in bed a little longer hoping she would be able to drift back off. Her eyes had slowly begun to shut but her mind wouldn't let her go back to sleep. There was always nagging racing thoughts going through her head. Mostly she got through it and kept herself together. But today felt different and she wasn't sure why.

"Mummy," she heard him say from the doorway. Yup. That was it. Xavier was awake.

"Come ere love," she said patting the puffy comforter next to her. The small boy wasted no time at all. She heard his little feet pick up speed on the wood floor as he took a leap onto the bed, all of his small limbs stretched wide in midair. He landed hard, even shaking the bedside table as he went, and then crawled energetically up to his mother on all fours before he nuzzled into the crook of her arm.

"I'm hungry," he said simply staring up at her with his vibrant gray eyes. She sighed and rubbed at her own eyes with her free hand taking one last look at the clock. It was 7:30 in the morning. She smiled down at her son and ran her slender fingers through his straight brown hair.

"Lets go," she said. The two of them clambered out of the bed and made their way to the kitchen. Her flat was small but cozy. It was in a two story building that was maybe two blocks from her parent's old home. After the war, she couldn't bring herself to move into the house that she'd grown up in. It felt so empty without them there and although she still owned it, she just couldn't. She had visited it a handful of times towards the end of the war but only for a very particular reason. Seeing as the Death Eaters were aware her parents were dead they had crossed that off their list of places to search. It also appeared empty to anyone who didn't know how to get in. To this day Hermione was the only one who could get past the wards put up. It hadn't always been that way, however.

Xavier shuffled into the kitchen with his coloring book and crayons in hand and sat at the little square table in front of the window as his mother lined up ingredients on the counter with her wand.

"French toast or pancakes?" she asked. She was holding a carton of eggs in her hand when the tap came on the window.

She hadn't been expecting anything that early and she felt the familiar tingle begin in the tips of her fingers as the anxiety started traveling up her arms. She put the eggs down quickly and went to the window, sliding it up so the owl could land on the table in front of Xavier. He smiled as he reached out and stroked the familiar owl who playfully nipped at his fingers.

"Hi Ziggy," he said happily. Ziggy stretched out his silver wings and flapped them a few times. It reminded Hermione of someone waving. He then turned his head almost all the way around to peer at her with his large yellow eyes. It creeped her out when he did that.

Hermione's eyebrows creased as she untied her message from the owls outstretched leg.

"Get Ziggy a treat will you?" she said not taking her eyes off of what was in her hands, that had begun to shake slightly. It had been from Ginny Weasley with a small piece of parchment clipped to it that read:

_Mione,_

_ I sent this as soon as I got the paper this morning. I thought you should be the first to know...Seeing as... Well. You know. I'm taking James to Holiday Park this afternoon. I was wondering if you and Xavier would like to join us there around oneish? I was thinking you may want some company. Let me know. _

_ Love From Ginny. _

Hermione took a deep breath and stared down at the picture of _him. _The headline on the Prophet read, "Draco Malfoy's Release." The article that followed stated that his case had finally come to a close and after about roughly five years in Azkaban and only completing less than a fourth of his sentence he would be free. Something about insufficient evidence and that he'd been cleared of several charges. And blah blah blah. Hermione hadn't really cared about the details. It was the fact that he was getting out. She had no doubt it had a lot to do with the fact that the Malfoys could get out of anything really, given enough time. Classic snakes evading the consequences of their actions. Although she knew that the youngest Malfoy hadn't been guilty of everything he'd been charged with, she also knew without a reasonable doubt that he wasn't innocent either. She knew a few things about Draco Malfoy. He was a self preserving, manipulative, sneaky bastard. If it meant he could save his own skin, he would've said or done anything. It didn't matter who got hurt. And when his family was placed on the Dark Lord's shit list he had done just that. The apple didn't rot far from the tree and just like his parents, he had no remorse or loyalties.

Xavier hurried back into the kitchen with a couple of owl biscuits clutched in his small pale fingers and let Ziggy peck them out of his hand as Hermione ripped half a page out of his coloring book and began searching for a writing utensil. It didn't occur to her she could have used a summoning charm to find one but her mind was so frazzled she simply grabbed one of Xavier's crayons and scribbled (literally) a quick response to her best friend. Xavier watched her with mild interest before his eyes wandered over to what his mother was holding in her hand.

"Mummy, who's that man?" he asked leaning forward a little bit. Xavier was going to turn five in October which was still a ways away but the little fellow was curious about absolutely everything around him. It still shocked Hermione how much children comprehended about life. She quickly crumpled the newspaper clipping and pushed it into her lap before muttering a quick 'nobody' to her son.

The morning went by rather quickly. Hermione finished making breakfast and turned on the cartoons for Xavier who sat on the couch sipping his orange juice.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, love," Hermione said. "I'll be right out. Be good and don't spill that," she said pointing at the half full glass of juice.

Xavier nodded, his eyes glazed over with weekend cartoons. She rolled her eyes with a small smile and took off down the hall. When the small boy heard the bathroom door shut he stood and walked back into kitchen. He sifted through the trash can until he found what he was looking for. A crumpled up newspaper clipping. The man's face fascinated him to a degree. He looked mean in all honesty and a little scary as he stared back at Xavier. His light eyes looked hallow, his sharp angular features chiseled and almost too thin. He looked like a ghost. Xavier stared at him for what seemed like a long time wondering why his mother had seemed so flustered and had remained too quiet as they ate. She really hadn't eaten at all. The man blinked every so often and then looked off to the side as if he couldn't be bothered with the camera. Xavier heard the shower turn off and quickly threw the clipping into the waste bin and hurried out of the kitchen, hopping back onto the couch.

"Get ready Xavier. We're meeting your Aunt Ginny and James at the park in a couple of hours and I wanted to stop by the library to pick up that book I've been waiting for before we go," she called from down the hall. She dried her hair off with a wave of her wand and entered her bedroom.

"Kay," was all her son said as he made his own way to his room.

...

"Been waiting long?" Ginny asked. Her son James had found Xavier immediately and the two were already immersed in some type of game they'd invented. Hermione lifted her face out of her hands and sighed, standing so she could hug her best friend. The red headed witch hugged her tight and they stayed that way for a minute or two before they sat back down on the bench. Hermione moved her book to the opposite side of her to make room for Ginny.

"Not too long," Hermione replied. In all honesty, she wasn't quite sure how long she'd been sitting there lost in her thoughts. There was a small silence that fell between the two women as they watched their children play. Sometimes Hermione wished they were still children themselves. Their upbringing had been anything but simple... But it had been simpler times. At least for a little while before the war had reared its' ugly head and taken all of their innocence away from them.

"Harry at work?" Hermione asked trying to break the silence. It was the weekend but she knew he'd been taking on extra hours. The life of an Auror was anything but relaxing. He didn't have a lot of time to himself these days.

"He and Ron went out with George for the afternoon," Ginny said, turning her body so she was facing Hermione. "Either way, I would've come by myself."

Hermione nodded and found that her hands were fidgeting in her lap. Ginny reached over to still them. Hermione looked up and found blue eyes piercing her intently.

"This changes nothing," Ginny said frankly. "Whether he gets out or ended up spending the rest of his life behind bars... It changes absolutely _nothing," _she repeated again firmly. Hermione took a moment to respond and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat that morning. Of course it didn't. Why would it? _He_ hadn't known the truth before he had been caught and was never told. And really, him being taken into custody had been a small blessing in itself cause it made it so Hermione never _had _to tell him. Ginny was the only one Hermione had confided in. She had even left the wizarding world before she'd been showing to avoid any unwanted attention. The tabloids always managed to find gossip on the Golden Trio after the war had ended. Everybody wanted to know the latest news about the war heroes. Hermione had wanted none of it. Especially in her condition. So she had left. Yet she found herself wondering how her dirt could possibly be kept swept under the rug. Was she simply going to keep this a secret forever? She thought about that for a moment. She _could_ keep it a secret. Her and Xavier could live out their lives without anyone ever knowing the truth... But what then? What would happen when he went to school? It was unfortunate that although he hadn't gotten the platinum blonde hair from his father, he'd gotten nearly everything else. The pale skin, the strong bone structure...Even the sharp little canine teeth his father had. His hair was even slightly lighter than Hermione's and virtually straight with the same soft consistency as his father. The fact that Hermione was unwed and on her own didn't bode well for her either. The wizarding world tended to pry.

"He can't ever know," Hermione said after what seemed like minutes. "He's not somebody I want in our lives."

"And he doesn't _have_ to know. I haven't told a soul. And honestly what are the chances that you two will even see each other again? It's for both you and your son's protection Hermione," Ginny said fiercly. "Xavier comes first. And sure, Malfoy may have helped put a stop to the war and that's the _only_ reason he's getting out." Hermione looked Ginny straight in the face and the red head could see the questions forming behind her lips, which were pressed together in a thin line. "It's been all over the news," Ginny began. "Malfoy turned in names and hideouts for the remaining unknown Death Eaters. _Safe_ _Houses_," Ginny scoffed and shifted, crossing her legs with a look of disgust on her face. "He apparently did it because they threatened him. The rumors are that they were going to try to slap some charges on his mother and he spilled. Even if he is out, he's not going to be safe anywhere," Ginny finished with a small laugh that was anything but humorous. "Either way you and Xavier don't need that kind of rubbish in your lives. Malfoy would be safer if he just crawled into a hole in the ground and disappeared forever. That's what he will do, if he's smart."

Even after the Dark Lord's death, the wizarding world wasn't safe. There was still resistance from the remaining Death Eaters. There were still incidents. The animosity didn't die between the bad and the good. Blood purity had still been an issue and although the wizard who had started the whole war was now dead, there were many that still weren't ready to give up their old ways. The Malfoys had caved. Self preservation. But that made them an enemy to everyone, barely tolerated in the wizarding world. And they hadn't done it for the right reasons so that didn't help their case. Hermione had learned that people don't change... It just didn't happen. And just because the most dangerous wizard of all time had been taken out of the equation didn't mean there wouldn't still be a struggle for power. Things had begun to improve but times were still dark. Hermione knew she'd made the right decision to leave and as long as the other Death Eaters still roamed free, her and her son would never be safe. Especially if it ever became known who his father was. It had been a terrible mistake and lapse in judgment. A moment that Hermione could never take back. But what was done, was done. She knew her life had changed forever when she had done the charm on herself and had confirmed her pregnancy. At that point, Malfoy had already been locked away.

"You know Hermione," Ginny went on, watching her best friend chew her lip. "It might be time to tell the others the truth about Xavier," she pressed gently. Hermione shook her head still staring at the floor, but Ginny could see her hands had begun to shake. "They would understand. We're your friends Mione! Your family! Hell, my mother watches him for you when you go to work. You really think that would change anything?"

"I can't." Hermione said. "It wasn't even meant to happen. It just _did._"

"We all do stupid things sometimes. But I think it's far past the point that you should feel ashamed. Emotions were high in the war. I don't really know what happened, even now... And that's not something you have to share with anyone. That's your personal business. But with his father getting out in a week, a _week_, Mione, it's time. You two will need extra protection and who could provide that better than Harry and Ron? They would see to it that nothing happens to you or your son. Malfoy is deranged. Please. For me," Ginny pleaded.

This was a serious thing that Hermione hadn't been prepared for.

"Look at your son, Mione," Ginny said motioning to the boys running and laughing. "I don't give a damn where he came from. He's precious. And he's yours and I love him like one of my own. It would kill me if anything happened and you know tensions are still high and your face isn't exactly unknown. Just think about it okay?"

Hermione watched Xavier laughing and smiling, playing in the sand. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright," she said simply. Ginny let out a breath and hugged Hermione once more.

"What do you say we get these boys some lunch?" she asked. Hermione nodded, grateful for the subject change. Ginny had grown accustomed to how little Hermione spoke these days. They had all lost so much during the war and it was still kicking. But she knew Hermione was still Hermione, deep down, and the woman was fierce. They'd all taken lives in their youth. Hermione had become a mother sooner than she planned but that had made her tougher. She knew her best friend would do what she needed to do for her family. Especially when it came to her son.

The women called the boys and walked to a nearby cafe. The day was beautiful, but it had been a long time since Hermione had been able to appreciate the small things. She had a feeling there was a storm coming her way. It was the same gnawing feeling she'd had in the pit of her stomach since she'd woken that morning. Intuition was never wrong.

**Draco:**

He sat on the cot in his cell with his legs crossed in front of him. The cheap sweats he wore were thin and somewhat dirty. He wore a simple shirt that resembled hospital scrubs with his identification number on the back. There were two letters in front of him that he didn't quite know how to feel about. Azkaban had changed a bit after the war... Perhaps for the better but it still wasn't a place you wanted to spend twenty to forty years of your life in. There were still Dementors that lingered all over the prison that were used to keep the prisoners in line. They took everything from you and when you ended up in Azkaban you didn't have that much to cling to as it was. His father Lucius was here as well but he wasn't allowed to have any contact with him what so ever.

He bit into an apple he'd been given for lunch as he read through his mother's letter one more time. It was the first mail he'd been allowed to receive his entire stay and it was only because he'd be released in a week's time. He had the right to make certain arrangements although he didn't plan to go back to his former residence. He didn't know what he was going to do... But if it was up to him he would never return to that place again.

_"You did the right thing..."_

Of course Narcissa Malfoy thought he'd done the right thing. He'd saved her arse from the same fate that he and his father had succumbed to. He loved his mother, but she was selfish just like the rest of the Dark Lord's followers. Just like him. Or maybe he was just like them. He looked down at his dark mark and sighed, scratching at it slightly feeling twitchy and irritable as he turned to the second letter. It was from none other than Pansy Parkinson. Of course she would still want him to come stay with her after his release. It didn't matter what he'd done. How many people he'd killed. Who he'd betrayed. He honestly didn't care either. He hadn't put much thought into what was to become of him and found he wasn't going to start now. He figured that death was inevitable any way he saw it and that it was waiting for him, whether he'd been sentenced to life in this hell hole or the next.

He had the option to write them back but didn't know what he would say. It had been so long since he'd talked to anyone outside of this place that he'd become accustomed to not having anyone. He found he didn't miss anyone either. He was actually quite tired of the life he had led and everything that came with it.

"Malfoy! Incoming," someone whispered harshly to his left. He heard it sliding into view before he saw it and he quickly stood and knelt down to pick up the baggy that was full of an off-white substance.

"Took you long enough," he muttered. He lingered next to his bars for a while listening. It seemed that the guards had stepped out to do rounds in the next pod. Just as he was about to sit down and partake of what he'd paid for, a Dementor came whizzing down the corridor and it stopped and hovered outside of his cell. He couldn't help but tense up at the sight of it, knowing what was coming. The damn things always picked the most inopportune times to pop up on someone. Their mouths reminded him of those little bottom feeder fish... perfect o's that just sucked up whatever they came into contact with...whether it be fish shit or food. Or the nasty slime that caked onto the side of an aquarium if you didn't clean it for a while. And in a way that's what they all were in this place. Slime on the side of an aquarium or shit wedged in between a rock and a hard place.

"Get on with it then," Malfoy snapped at it. He wasn't even sure if it could comprehend what he was saying to it. "I know you need your fix too."

The Dementor inclined its head toward him, a gesture that reminded Draco of a southern man tipping his hat, and then that weird intake of breath and Draco went cold. He could hear the screams. It was always the screams. Flashes of green light and _her_. Her brown eyes came into view, much like they did in his dreams, filled with tears, begging for death. It wasn't him...But he'd never been able to do a damn thing for anyone, unless it was to cause them harm. Until the end. It felt like forever as countless victims passed over his mind's eye. His worst fears, pains, and nightmares. It was all there, like an open book of shame. When it was all over Draco didn't want to feel anything ever again. He sat against the wall shaking, covered in sweat, gasping for air as the Dementor floated away, its appetite sated.

"Fuck," he muttered. He sniffed a little and wiped at his face, looking around his small cell. Somewhere down the corridor he heard someone else begin to scream. Sometimes the other prisoners didn't take the soul sucking so well. Some of them didn't stop screaming for hours afterward. He rolled his eyes and quickly reached for the small baggy in his pocket. It was the corner of someone's sandwich bag or something similar, and had been burned at the edges so it stayed closed. He tore into it and reached under his cot where he found a small straw that he'd cut to be a few inches long. He put the end into the baggy and lifted it to his nose and took a huge snort. It burned to say the least and tasted terrible going down but the effects were simultaneous. He somehow managed to burn the end of the bag and pinch it shut again before his eyesight started to go blurry and the familiar euphoria set in. It was almost like his soul gave a sigh a relief. He stashed the substance in a very private orifice and laid down, throwing one of his arms over his face.

"You feelin' better Malfoy?" the wizard in the cell across from him asked.

"Fuck off," Malfoy murmured.

"Share the wealth," the wizard pressed.

He was already beginning to nod off. He sometimes stopped to wonder what had become of him but found he really didn't care all that much. Would it be different when he got out? Or was it going to just be a different kind of struggle? He wasn't even sure if he was happy about it. Things had changed completely. Most of his friends were dead, and the ones that remained were... Well. Pansy. Or now wanted him dead because of what he had done. His last thoughts drifted right out of his head as he fell asleep.

...

"Malfoy!" somebody was shaking him.

"Mmm," was the only response the guards got and a slight push from Malfoy's arm.

"Mr. Malfoy! Get up! You're being moved!" another voice said.

"I'm fuckin' sleeping," Malfoy muttered into his thin mattress. Nothing was registering at all and didn't begin to until his mattress started to wiggle under him like a magic carpet and tipped him off the edge of his cot. He spilled onto the floor like some limp rag doll and then the cold water hit him. Somebody was flashing a light into his eyes.

"Pretty sure he's high again," the mediwitch said. Draco didn't know it, but they'd been trying to get him up for some time. "Alright Mr. Malfoy, where's the stash at?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco said, throwing his arm over his face again. Everything was much too bright and much too loud. And there were too many faces pressing in on him. With a swift movement he was pulled to his feet.

"I'm only going to ask you one more time and then you're getting the rubber glove," the guard said. They were used to this kind of thing at Azkaban. Much like muggle prisons the people were essentially the same. The only difference was that these people were wizards and magic made them much more dangerous. They still hadn't been able to figure out how the contraband was getting in. Anytime they busted one source, a new one would reveal itself. The drug problem was becoming a little ridiculous. When Draco didn't respond at all the guard took another approach.

"Having illegal substances in Azkaban can have time added to your sentence, Mr. Malfoy. You're out of here in a week. You really want to throw that away for what you have up your arse?"

"I don't care," Draco said. In that moment he really didn't. "I've already served my time. You really want me here _longer_?"

"That's beside the point. We can't let you keep that shit," the guard said. "So how about you just give it up and we'll take you to your holding cell. You'll be there for the remainder of your stay. After that I don't give a shit what happens to you," he growled.

Draco cursed himself. He should've known they were going to move him soon and if he had... they wouldn't have caught him in the state he was. All he knew was he didn't want to give the baggy over. Cause in a bit he'd be sicker than a dog and it would make the last week hell.

"Why don't you use your last week here to detox?" the guard asked reasonably. "Then it's a new start. Maybe a different life."

"Do you know who you're talking to right now?" Draco snapped. He rolled his eyes. What a fucking idiot. The guard sounded like someone else he knew when he talked like that and he didn't want to be reminded of her. Ever again. He could almost hear her now.

_"You can start over in a whole new place. Even a whole different country. And never look back."_

_ "Oh yeah? Would you do it?" he'd asked her. _

_ "If there was nothing left for me here," she'd replied. _

_ "Is there?" he'd demanded. _

_ "I-I haven't decided..." her voice trailed off._

Wouldn't that be nice.

Time was up. He was bent forcefully over and he let out a slight cry of pain as he felt the rubber glove enter him roughly and his stash was removed. The guard tossed the baggy into the toilet as he scoffed and Draco heard it flush away. They yanked up his sweats and took him out of his cell.

"Or you could be a junkie the rest of your life. It's your choice," the guard said.

Draco didn't like that title at all. What the hell would his mother say? He felt a small sneer reach his lips. That's why he wasn't going home. He blamed his parents slightly for the way his life turned out. And he knew things were going to get a whole lot more complicated when he was free. Little did he know, he had no idea.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short. This is my first fanfiction in quite some time. New account and everything. I'm trying my hand and reviews are welcome. I have so many plans for this story. I hope it goes over well. **


	2. Chapter 2

**What Lies Beneath**

**Hermione:**

Hermione stood and stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before she shook her head and blinked a few times. She then raised her wand and cast a glamor spell on her hair and watched it fall in soft ringlets down her back. She turned to the side, examining her handy work as she set about putting on a small amount of makeup. She and Xavier were going to have dinner at the Burrow that evening to finally discuss the father of her child. Mrs. Weasly had watched her son for her that day while she worked, so she'd just stopped by her flat to change. She had been remembering the key occasion that had even made it possible for Draco Malfoy to conceive a child with her. It had been the night he had lied to his family about Harry, Ron, and her identity. It was safe to say seeing doubt amongst Voldemort's followers had planted a seed. Especially when Malfoy had attempted to hide the truth from his Aunt. It meant that perhaps the war could take a turn in the light side's favor. She had been tortured in his home anyway... But he had attempted to make things right on the fateful night she had returned to her parent's home shortly after they'd been murdered.

They were much younger then and it wasn't exactly naive for her to say that there was hope for Draco at that point. She had tried not to hold it against Malfoy that he'd killed so many people. They had both done their fair share of harm in that aspect. The only difference was the nature of the people they were robbing of life. Malfoy had killed innocent people. Hermione had only killed those that truly deserved it. When Malfoy showed up claiming he wanted to put an end to the war, she saw it as he was trying to do the right thing for once in his life. You could blame it on the Gryffindor in her. They always tried to see the good underneath the bad. In Malfoy's case that was like sifting through a massive dung heap in search of a galleon. Hermione returned to her memories.

_She had just finished putting the wards up with tears in her eyes before she collapsed to the floor in the living room of her childhood home. It felt strange being there, knowing that her parents would never step foot through the door again. Not even five minutes after she'd completed her protection spells, the wards had gone off telling her there was an intruder on the porch, because they couldn't go any further if they tried. She had grasped her wand in one hand and used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe the tears and sweat from her face. She knew there was a chance she could have been followed but grief took away any fear. She hadn't told anyone where she was going and had set off to make sure nobody defiled her home. The Death Eaters had made it a point to burn any potential refuge to the ground. There was indeed a Death Eater/s outside of her door but she hadn't expected what would happen when she finally chose to face him. She didn't even know who it would be. _

_ "Granger," he said through the solid oak door. She froze, her heart beating into her throat. She would recognize his voice anywhere. That's what happened when someone bullied the hell out of you for the better part of your childhood. _

_ Malfoy? She didn't respond but only waited for him to say something else. _

_ "I know you're in there. Just...Can we talk? I'm not here to try to hurt you or..." he trailed off. Draco Malfoy knew how ridiculously foolish that would sound. There wasn't a chance in hell that she would trust him after what happened at the Manor and for all the incidents before. He hadn't admitted their identities, but at the end that really hadn't helped at all. For all he knew she still had the word 'mudblood' carved into her forearm. The same forearm he had received the dark mark on. _

_ "I should strike you down where you stand Malfoy!" she spat. She had her wand raised ready to blast a hole right through her parent's front door. She wiped angrily at the tears that were still escaping her eyes. _

_ "I heard about your parents, Granger," he called. It was the wrong thing to say. The first curse blasted the glass right out of the top of the front door. He dodged it, but jut barely. She'd almost taken his head off. "I'm sorry!" he said. His voice sounded more startled than angry. _

_ "Why would you be sorry? They were just muggles!" she screeched, sarcasm dripping off of every over-enunciated word. Another curse flew at him. He decided to walk a few paces away from the door. He cast a silencing spell around himself and the door so that the neighbors didn't catch on. This was a very stupid position for both of them to be in and he was starting to rethink it. Granger was clearly in an irrational state. She had come here alone for Merlin's sake. Then again so had he... As he was contemplating what to say to her he was also considering taking his leave. But that's what cowards did...and he was tired of being a coward. Not to mention he'd come this far and what good would it do if he left now? He wanted to change the direction of this war for the better. He'd seen and done too many awful things. His family was not held in the same prestige as they used to be and the way he saw it, if he didn't do something, they would die like their enemies sooner than later and he wasn't willing to let that happen. _

_ "Look Granger, this is not the time or place to be revealing us right now," he tried to reason with her. It seemed that Granger had gone a little insane after her parent's had been killed and he decided that was a perfectly acceptable reaction. They had been innocent. Their only mistake had been producing one of the most intelligent and dangerous witches of their time. Draco had never seen anyone like her but he would never admit that to anyone. Not even to himself most of the time. _

_ "You think I give a damn about any of that?" she yelled. He could hear the tears in her voice and in that moment he tried to feel her pain. He had always had empathy issues but he attempted to put himself in her shoes. He would probably be devastated if his parents died but he didn't know if that was just bred loyalty or true affection. He knew he didn't grow up the same way she did. Loyalty was more important than intimacy in his family. You were taught to follow blindly. This is something he had finally realized and it had hit him extremely hard. If he was questioning his blood then that blew the hinges off of any doubts that had begun to creep in. He found there were no right words for the the muggle-born witch. If there was, they were lost to him. _

_ Hermione took in the lack of response from Malfoy, her chest heaving. She could feel something slowly snapping inside of her. Perhaps everything had finally taken its toll. It occurred to her that he probably had no real concept of family so how could he possibly comprehend what she was going through? It was then that she decided he was part of the problem and needed to be put down. She flung the door open and began throwing every single curse she knew at him. He only attempted to block them, he wasn't firing back. He hopped off the porch to put some distance between them and felt the pressure of the ward leave him. It wouldn't be long before Hermione was outside of the ward too. He kept backing up allowing her to leave the safety of her own protection spells. It was then that she started to throw unforgivables. Draco was so shocked as a jet of green light flew past his head that he realized they were living in an entirely different world now. A world where Granger would put an unforgivable on her own wand just to be rid of him. To make sure the whole world was rid of him. And why wouldn't she? There weren't rules anymore. It was her life or his...There was pure vengeance etched across her features. _

_ "Holy shit!" he yelled. It came out louder than he intended but he had almost just died. He was wide open and she was already cocking back to throw another curse at him. The thing that scared him the most was that she hadn't uttered a single curse out loud. And perhaps that he was at the receiving end of such a savage attack from somebody he'd actually deemed decent before the war had begun, despite his distaste for her. It had everything to do with what he'd done the entire time he'd known her. He knew that._

_ He took his chances and the moment he saw her walk out of the boundary of her wards he rushed her. She sent a couple more curses at him, which he managed to block with his own wand, which flew into the bushes behind him, and then he made contact and the two of them went flying to the ground hard. He landed on top of her and quickly began wrestling her for her wand. Draco was much bigger than Hermione and it wasn't hard once he had her down. He flung her wand across the yard and grasped both of her hands in his as she struggled wildly against him. She tore back and forth and at some point even bit him. He flipped her over and put all his weight on her back. Her wand flew back towards them and landed on the grass next to Hermione who couldn't reach out and grasp it. He was afraid she knew much more magic than he was aware of so he spoke fast, into her ear. Hermione could feel his labored breath. _

_ "Do you know how stupid that was?" he rushed out. "I could have been out here with twenty other Death Eaters. You would have been DONE," he spat. They were both panting and she was still struggling. He was trying to make if very clear how easily she could've lost her life if he had been there to capture her. "I'm here to make things RIGHT, Granger! We're making quite a scene. I would be shocked if you haven't disturbed the whole neighborhood. We NEED TO TALK!"_

_ Hermione's body finally gave into exhaustion and she laid with her face pressed against the grass of the lawn her father had cared for so diligently. She could feel Malfoy's crushing weight on top of her and began to hyperventilate. "How could you ever make it right?" she gasped. She was still crying. She was at a loss and in the throws of a severe panic attack. She'd been captured. She was sure of it. Again. Until what he'd said actually sunk in. He _could have_ been out here with twenty other Death Eaters. And so far the night was still quiet and virtually undisturbed. She knew the Death Eaters wanted her. The fact that she was here was a huge mistake in itself. But she was still here and no dark wizards had slunk out of the shadows to aid Malfoy. _

_ "We don't have a lot of time," he'd said. "Can we go inside?" _

_ "You're insane," she breathed. "You really think I would lower the wards I just put up to let my worst enemy into my home?" _

_ Malfoy gritted his teeth against her hair. _

_ "Don't lower them, just make a temporary exception," Malfoy said. "If I let you up, can you give me your word you won't try to kill me again?" _

_ Why the hell would she give this scumbag her word on _anything?! _Hermione didn't know what to do. He hadn't made a move to seize her wand but she knew she was still in grave danger. She was also aware Malfoy didn't have his own wand so they were both at a disadvantage. She weighed her options. He hadn't tried to hurt her _yet_. _

_ "Will you leave your wand where it is?" she asked. Malfoy was silent for a minute. _

_ "How about I let you hold onto it until we're done here?" he compromised. He didn't feel comfortable leaving his wand in the bushes and he was getting exceedingly uncomfortable laying on top of Granger in her front yard where any passerby could see them. Hermione let out another little sob but nodded._

_ "I need to hear you say it," Draco mumbled. _

_ "I won't try to kill you. But you need to promise me the same and let me retrieve my wand," Hermione said. She didn't know what the hell was happening or what would happen when they entered her home but she was going to see if the Slytherin could keep his word. Draco let go of one of her hands and grasped her wand. She was about to start thrashing again when he closed the short distance between her fingers and her wand. He then got off of her and let her stand. He kept his hands in plain view. Hermione quickly summoned Draco's wand, never taking her eyes off of him. _

_ "You first," she said, flicking her wand towards her front door. "Keep your hands where I can see them."_

_ Draco nodded and slowly approached the house. The ward gave way to him and they entered her parent's living room. Hermione shut the door behind them. _

It was just a means to an end, that night. It was the beginning of the brief meetings she'd had with Draco before the war ended. She often wondered if she could have said something to the Aurors... To her best friends... to get Draco out of the mess he'd put himself in. He had been the one to supply her with information about Voldemort's inner circle. Their schedules. Things like that. And it had brought quite a few of them down. A lot of them were sitting in Azkaban just like he was at this very moment...Or dead. They discussed more than the Dark Lord after a while but to say they were friends would be a severe exaggeration. They had history. That was all. Given the circumstances and their young age it could've been simply that they needed something familiar. Even if familiar didn't mean pleasant.

When she heard of his capture she thought about revealing that Draco had been her informant but she rethought it. If she revealed him, he would be dead just like the rest. There were ways of it happening in Azkaban too. And a huge part of Hermione felt like he did deserve to be there. Maybe not for the rest of his life. It was just that there were consequences to every action and Malfoy's hands weren't clean. And although he'd been making an attempt at reforming himself he had never truly leaped into the commitment of changing sides. It was almost like too little too late in his case. He'd done too many things that he could be charged with. It turned out snitching had been the answer for him after all. But only after he'd given a small chunk of his life to Azkaban.

Hermione had gotten off of work from the bookstore slightly later than she'd expected. Her life seemed a little mundane seeing as she had the skills to be doing much more important things with herself. She could've become an Auror or a Healer... A professor... There were any number of wizarding careers that were at her disposal after the war. Job offers had been thrown around left and right. Harry and Ron had gotten recruited into law enforcement _during_ the war. But to say it simply, Hermione had gotten knocked up and had seen way too much shit. She needed a break. She still hadn't quite gotten over her parent's death even five years later. She felt responsible. She _was_ responsible. They would've never been dragged into it if they hadn't of had her for a daughter. Even with her best efforts of trying to protect them, it had all failed. She was working on letting it go but it was slow moving, only a little progress at a time.

She had picked a job she was passionate about. Books. She could be content with that. But it was only a job. Not a career. She'd inherited all of her parent's worldly possessions, being their only child. That left her with quite a bit of money that had been given to her in their wills and of course the life insurance. If it weren't for the sizable financial cushion, her and her son would be scraping by paycheck to paycheck. If that had been the case she would have taken her chances in the wizarding world. She wouldn't make her son live in poverty just because she had personal issues. She thanked her parent's every day for leaving her with the means of not having to live a life she didn't want to. Eventually her son would know all about the wizarding world. She hadn't kept magic a secret, but for right now she was happy with the way she was raising him. There was nothing to corrupt him. He could have a childhood.

Hermione glanced at the clock and made her way over to the fireplace. She grabbed a bit of floo powder in her hand and stated her destination clearly before she was whisped away to the Burrow. She landed on her feet in the Weasley's living room, where she was nearly knocked over by her son.

"He's been waiting for you in there since you got off of work dear," Molly Weasley called from the kitchen. Hermione picked up her son and walked into the kitchen as James came up to say hello. She gave the green eyed boy a quick hug and set her son down as she landed a kiss on his pale cheek.

"Go play baby. I'm going to help Grams get dinner ready for everyone," Hermione said.

"I missed you all day mummy," Xavier said, clutching Hermione around one of her legs. She smiled down at her son.

"Were you good for your grams?" she asked. He gave her a mischevious smirk that only reminded her of his father. "Were they good?" Hermione asked turning her attention to Molly.

"For the most part," Molly said as she flicked her wand. She had about five things going at once. "Nothing I can't handle. I did have quite a few little ones myself at one point," she teased bumping Hermione with her round hip. "At the same time if you don't remember."

Hermione smiled thinking back on her childhood and her memories with the Weasleys. Xavier and James went into the living room.

"Do you need help Molly?" Hermione asked. Molly merely shook her head.

"You've been working all day dear. Why don't you sit down and have some tea?" Mrs. Weasley replied. Hermione did sit and watched Mrs. Weasley at work. It was a little amazing how talented she was in the kitchen even if her talents weren't used as frequently as they had been in the past. It was just Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow now. It seemed kind of empty without her children and Arthur Weasley. The children still visited their mother often to make up for the loss of their father. Molly was getting through it.

"So you wanted to talk to the boys about something?" Molly asked. Hermione had made it clear there was a reason she wanted to get together with _all _of her close friends. Ginny had helped her set up the dinner date at the Burrow.

"And you too," Hermione said. "Some things have come up and I have something kind of important I wanted to tell everyone...There's some things that need to be discussed." Hermione took note of how some of the spoons slowed in their stirring. Molly turned and looked at her.

"Is everything alright Hermione?" She asked. It may have been something about Hermione's tone but she could see she had worried Molly.

"It is..." Hermione began. "I just want to make sure it stays that way. How about we wait until after dinner to discuss it?" she asked. She didn't want the entire evening to be strained and perhaps she should've waited to respond all together. Molly nodded and gave her an easy smile as the kitchen door opened and Ginny and Harry walked in.

"How about you help me set the table?" Molly asked. Hermione nodded and set to work as greetings were exchanged.

…...

Dinner went as it usually did even though it was much smaller than back in the day. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were the only other people present. James and Xavier ate at a smaller table across the room. The kid's table, which had never been removed even after all the Weasley's had grown up. It came in handy when there were family get togethers.

Hermione found herself smiling at the people who sat around her. It had been a while since they'd all gotten together like this and she found she missed them. She hadn't meant to isolate herself. It was just sometimes she couldn't bring herself to do normal things. By the end of the day when she was finished at work, she wanted nothing more than to pick up Xavier and return home to relax. It seemed like she was always drained.

"So er... There's a reason Ginny set up this dinner," Hermione said when she saw a small gap in the conversation. Molly folded her napkin and set it down on her plate. "I have something I wanted to tell you..."

Ginny stood and walked over to the children's table.

"Boys, are you done eating then?" she asked. She waved her wand and cleared the table before herding the two children into the other room. The gesture wasn't lost on any of them.

"What's going on Mione?" Harry asked with true concern. Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment.

"I know..." she began but her words were getting caught in her throat. She was suddenly very afraid of how they were going to react to her news. What if they were angry with her? Ginny re-entered the kitchen and waved her wand, casting a silencing charm on the door. She then took an empty seat next to Hermione. She patted her leg reassuringly.

"You know what?" Ron asked through a mouth full of dinner roll. When she was still hesitant Ginny spoke up.

"It's alright Mione. It's better if you just get it out. Quick and easy," she said. Harry looked at his wife questioningly. Hermione began again.

"I know that I never wanted to tell you who Xavier's father is," she started. Now all of the people at the table, save for Ginny, were very interested in what she was about to say. "It wasn't just a stupid one night stand I had... I mean... Kind of." Merlin this was getting awkward. Rons ears had begun to turn pink.

"I mean it's okay Hermione," Ron cut in as though he didn't want her to finish what she was about to say. He didn't like to know much about either of his friend's love lives. He felt that was on a need to know basis, Unfortunately little did he know, he needed to know. He pushed his plate away, which was a miracle in itself and directed his full attention to his best friend. "We never judged you for that or anything... Things happen."

"It wasn't just a _thing_. Do you remember how I told you all that during the war I had an informant?" she asked. Harry nodded slowly. "And when the information he was providing was proven to be accurate you allowed me to handle it the way I saw fit..."

"Yeees," Harry began slowly. "Did you...have to sleep with him for information or something?" A small gasp escaped Mrs. Weasley. Ginny immediately rolled her eyes, bringing her palm up to her forehead.

"Merlin Harry. Let's not jump to conclusions here," she said exasperatedly to her husband. He looked a little embarrassed but motioned for Hermione to keep going.

"Look, you all are so important to me. And I kept it a secret for a lot of reasons... Mainly because it was a mistake that I was hoping would bury itself but it would seem that's not meant to be," Hermione said. "My informant was Malfoy," she blurted out. The entire room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the boys playing in the other room. "And he's also Xavier's father..."

Ronald's entire face and neck had gone red at this point. Hermione wasn't entirely sure if it was because he was angry, uncomfortable, or wasn't breathing. Harry loosened his tie and sat back in his chair, letting his eyes meet his wife's.

"I'm guessing you already knew about this?" he asked. He wasn't exactly angry. It was more like he was stating a fact. Ginny nodded, her lips pressed together and her eyebrows bent apologetically.

"I made her promise she wouldn't say anything," Hermione told her best friend. "Like I've said. There are so many reasons why I never said anything. I was trying to protect Xavier... I was ashamed. I-"

Harry put his hand up. "Just...give me a minute to process all this," Harry said.

"Would anyone like tea?" Molly cut in. It was clear she didn't know any other way to smooth the tension in the room and perhaps needed something to do.

"I would love some tea mum," Ginny said sweetly. Molly stood up and began bustling around the kitchen.

"Malfoy's getting out in what?" Harry asked tilting his head towards Ron.

"Four days," Ron replied. It was clear his brain was working again because the two shot right to the point. Perhaps that's how all Aurors were in this sort of situation.

"This is something you should've told us Hermione," Harry began slowly. "That was an important bit of information you left out. _Malfoy_ was your informant? Do you know how dangerous that could've been for you?"

"You _knew_ he wouldn't have kept providing information if I got you involved Harry. _You_ _knew_ _that_. And I'm still alive. Clearly he never hurt me," she said indignantly.

"Clearly," Ron snapped.

"What does that mean, Ronald?" Ginny growled at her brother. The red was creeping up Ron's collar again.

"How did this happen Hermione?" he asked directing his attention to her instead of his sister. "I mean how could you...and him...Was it forced?"

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"I don't really think that's any of our business," Molly said sternly as she was setting the table for tea. Harry was tugging at his hair in an irritated fashion.

"It wasn't forced Ronald. And that's all I wish to say about it," Hermione snapped.

"So you're going to stick up for him now-" Ronald began to retort but Ginny stepped in.

"It's been five years Ronald. Too much time has passed for you to still be behaving this way. Especially since you've got Lavender sitting at home. You all are missing the point. _Malfoy is getting out of prison in four days_. What are we going to do? If Hermione had wanted him to know about Xavier, then he would know about him already. Can we please focus on what's important? We can work out the kinks later if Hermione wants to. But she's still our family. You two can't let anything happen to her or her son," she snapped at the two men sitting in front of her. "Who his father is shouldn't change a thing."

"It changes everything, love," Harry said. He sighed. "We don't have very much time to figure this out. You're positive he doesn't know Hermione?"

"I'm not daft," Hermione said. "I knew what kind of shit storm that would bring on if he were to find out. Not to mention he's not going to be the most popular wizard when he gets out."

"Him not knowing takes care of half the battle," Harry said. "I'm sure there's a spell somewhere that we could use to keep track of him. The Auror's are probably already planning to do that as it is. I could ask around tomorrow about some things. We'll make it a priority."

Ron was still sulking a little but he nodded. "I mean, we haven't ever had access to his case," he began.

"Didn't want it," Harry added. "But this definitely changes things. We might have to let some of the other Aurors that are assigned to his case in on the situation. The circumstances are very important and they're sworn to secrecy. Especially since it's you Hermione. They'll want to help. We just have to make sure you two are never put in a position that he could find out." That sounded impossible.

Hermione nodded stiffly and brought her hand to the back of her neck. Even though she knew the chances were slim that they would ever run into Malfoy due to where she chose to reside, she didn't want to chance it. If what she'd been hearing was true, he wouldn't be safe in the wizarding world. There was a chance he would end up taking a leaf out of her book and choose to live far away from it. That probably didn't mean he'd end up being her neighbor. She already felt exhausted. She had a feeling that this conversation was going to bring a whole lot of things back into her life that she wasn't ready to deal with again. All for the sake of precautions.

"How about I get a hold of you tomorrow Mione?" Harry said. "I'll fill you in on your options. And any information I can."

"Sounds fine," Hermione said. "It's getting late. Me and my boy should be getting home soon," she muttered, rising from the table.

"If you want, I can make sure you and Xavier get home alright," Ron offered. Hermion shook her head with a smile.

"Thank you Ron, but it's fine. Really. It's not like he's out yet," she said. Ginny took her silencing charm down and propped the door open. Hermione called her son into the kitchen and gave her friends hugs. Molly hugged her extra tight.

"Are you bringing that sweet little boy here tomorrow?" she asked. Hermione felt a little relief at the comment and nodded.

"Of course Molly. If you don't mind," she said. Molly reached up and pinched Hermione in the cheek.

"Why on Earth would I mind dear?" she asked, her facial expression telling Hemione not to be ridiculous. Hermione grinned at her, rubbing her cheek.

"Thank you," she said softly. Mrs. Weasley merely smiled and gave her a small nod. All she could hope was that everything would be okay and they were just being extra careful.

**A/N: I think the next chapter is going to be Draco's point of view. It will be up soon. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****I know the themes in this story may be a little different than what people are used to. There is mature content. I was a little hesitant when I decided to write this but I'm glad I started to. Hope it keeps any readers interest. Things are going to start moving along now. Feedback is welcome. **

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco:**

He stared up at the house in front of him with a mixture of disgust and relief. It was close to midnight when he had arrived, still wearing the clothes he'd been apprehended in. He ran his fingers through his hair that was beginning to get a little too long and made his way up to the door. He hadn't really wanted to come here but seeing as his choices were limited he would take what he could get. As he approached he could hear music coming from inside that was louder than it probably needed to be. He raised his hand and knocked firmly. He figured if he didn't do it hard enough he might not be heard. The door was flung open and a man stood on the other side in a loose fitting muscle shirt. He had a cigarette dangling from his fingers. Smoke billowed out around him and hit Draco in the face, the stench thick and stale. The two of them stood for a moment sizing each other up. Draco didn't think he was a wizard. He glanced at the number on the door to make sure he was at the right place.

"Can I help you?" the man asked rudely. He could see around the stranger into the house where a few other people were sprawled on couches. Draco clenched his teeth together, the muscle in his jaw tensing.

"Pansy here?" Draco asked raising one pale eyebrow at what he was sure was a shaggy muggle standinng in front of him. What the hell had happened in the five years he had been away?

"Who the hell's asking?" the muggle snapped.

"_I am_," Draco said staring at the man like he was a complete idiot. As this exchange occured Draco saw a feline come into view. It was none other than Moppet. Pansy's cat. He was a large hairy cat with a smooshed face, tan and black in coloring. The cat sauntered its way to the open door and looked up at Draco before he began weaving in and out of Draco's legs purring loudly.

"Do you know what time it is mate?" the man asked. Draco shooed the cat away.

"Looks like _you're_ up," Draco retorted. His fingers were twitching around his wand in his trenchcoat pocket. The man sneered at him and took a drag of his cigarette. "Is she here or not?" Draco asked, his voice beginning to rise in volume. "She's the one that told me I could come here."

"Oh my God. Is that who I think it is?" Pansy came flying into view, shoving the man out of the doorway. "Vincent don't be rude. This is _Draco,"_ she said. Draco looked at his ex girlfriend as though she were a whole different species.

"What the hell kinda name is that?" Vincent asked as he retreated into the house. Pansy was already in the air as she leaped into Draco's arms, wrapping her long legs around his waist. She wreaked of cigarette smoke and pot. Draco raised his hands and placed them on her sides as she hugged him fiercly, her entire body pressed against his.

"I can't believe you're finally here!" she said. He could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Alright," Draco murmured attempting to peel her off of him. "_Alright_!" he repeated. He suddenly felt very claustrophbic. He hadn't had human contact in a very long time and found that this was making him want to scream. Pansy plopped back onto the porch, her breasts jiggling a little bit as she landed. She was taking him in.

"I actually wasn't expecting you this soon or I would've tried to clean up," she said smiling at him. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and beaming. Pansy had never been classically pretty. Her features had always resembled that of her cat's. When they were in school she had a nickname that she was known for throughout the school. _Pugnose_. And slut. But whatever. "Does your mum know you're out?"

Draco was still staring at her with his nose crinkled up.

"Did you change your face or something?" he asked. He may have been avoiding her questions but Pansy dodged his as well. She grabbed him by his hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind her.

"We're going upstairs," Pansy said to Vincent who was sitting on the couch hunched over a dirty coffee table. From what Draco could tell he was breaking out some lines of something. Whatever it was it had the girl on the couch awake, watching him like the feign she probably was. Vincent didn't even bother to look up from what he was doing. Against Draco's better judgment he followed Pansy up the stairs. He was tempted to just leave and go to the Manor.

Pansy led him into what he could only assume was her room. She threw some clothes off of the bed and onto the floor, missing a bra that was thrown onto her pillow. She laid down and patted the mattress next to her. Draco was still standing in front of her closed bedroom door looking uncomfortable.

"Pansy..." he began.

"This is the house my parent's bought me," she interrupted. "Pretty nice huh?"

"Sure," Draco said. "You know... I might just leave."

Pansy scooted to the end of her bed and looked at him with the familiar pout he'd known all through school. She stood up and walked over to him, taking both his hands in hers.

"It's been forever since I've seen you," she said reaching up and pushing his coat from his shoulders. She folded it againt her arm and placed it on a dresser that was inside of a rather large and messy closet. "Just relax."

"What is all this?" Draco asked. He motioned behind him towards the hallway. "Who the hell are those people?"

"They're friends," her response was abrupt. "Don't worry about them. They won't bother us. Why don't you lay down? We can talk. You want a beer?"

"Honestly I want something heavier," Draco said. He was taking in Pansy's current state and had no doubt in his mind that she _had_ something heavier. Or someone downstairs did. She was thinner than he remembered, standing there in her tiny gray shorts and black tank top. Her black hair was long and flowed down her back. She had definitely done something to her features. Her nose wasn't as flat and squished as it used to be. She was prettier.

"Heavier like what?" she asked. "You adopt a habit while you were in Azkaban?"

"Did you adopt a habit while I was in Azkaban?" he snapped. His nerves had been on fire for the last week and he wasn't really in the mood to be questioned about it. He and Pansy had always partied together but it seemed in the time they'd been away from each other they both had some things to fess up to. She rolled her eyes.

"Same ol' Draco," she murmured flopping back down on her bed. She reached over and opened the drawer to her bedside table and dug around for a moment before she found the baggy. She held it out to him.

"Like this?" she asked one thin eyebrow raised. Draco sat down next to her on the bed and took the baggy out of her hand.

"Why not," he said staring down at it. Anything to take the edge off.

…...

Draco lay staring at Pansy's ceiling, his heart pounding in his chest. He and Pansy had spent the better of two...maybe three hours chatting away about meaningless things. It was almost nice. She rolled onto her side and draped her arm over his stomach. He could see her painted black fingernails fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.

"So what was it like in there?" Pansy asked.

"What do you think it was like?" Draco grumbled. He could feel his avoidance for this conversation creeping up his throat. He shifted uncomfortably next to Pansy. "It wasn't a tea party."

"Was it hard to... You know. Only be around men?" she asked. Her hand moved a little so that her fingrtips were now underneath the hem of his shirt. His skin prickled at the contact as she rubbed gentle cirlces against him.

"Pansy..." Draco began, mild irritation seeping into his voice. "That is the _last_ thing you worry about in there."

"What's the first?" she muttered against his chest. He had his arms tucked behind his head and hadn't moved to put them around her.

"You worry about the possibility that you'll probably be spending the rest of your life in there," he drawled. "And that you're going to miss ALL the good things. Things you never even considered you could lose before you ended up in prison. Things you didn't appreciate before you were without them."

"Like what?" she asked. She was showing mild interest but he knew what she was trying to lead up to. That's how Pansy had always been.

"I never thought once about all the sex I wasn't going to get to have. Lets just put it like that," he said. He didn't particularly want to explain how the Dementors somehow made you focus on what you did wrong to wind up in Azkaban in the first place. Now that he thought about it, it was quite a good way to reform somebody if they didn't go insane first. When you weren't being sucked on, you were thinking about every single mistake you'd ever made. The Dementors kept the memories fresh because they were constantly sucking the happiness out of you. If there was any.

Draco didn't want to share the fact that he realized at some point that he'd robbed himself of his future by following blindly in his parent's footsteps. In his youth he'd never thought about what he wanted to do once he was out of school. His time was dominated by trying to please his father and prove himself worthy of the the Dark Lord's army. When Draco had had time to reflect on what that truly meant he realized that perhaps subconciously he'd known all along that choosing to follow his father's path left his future up in the air. There was a 50/50 chance that he would die, which would have been considered an honorable death to his parents and any other racist pureblood families. That didn't mean that he had wanted to die. He supposed his future had always been predetermined. Go to school. He hadn't gotten a chance to finish but he knew enough magic as it was. Probably not the good kind but enough to get through his whole life without ever needing anything. The next goal was to join Voldemort's army. He'd been prepped since he was much too young to comprehend what he was being taught. That was just the way things were. Then when they _won_ the war, (which he now realized was very presumptious of the Dark Lord, to assume he _would_ win), Draco was expected to enter into an arranged marriage. Seeing as the war had gotten very serious quickly...Draco's arranged spouse had never been revealed. He knew he wouldn't go through with an arranged marriage now. The chances of any pureblood family wanting their daughter to marry into the Malfoy family were slim to none. And Draco had developed his own issues whilst in prison. Problems that would get in the way of any romantic relationship he tried to have.

He hadn't known if he had wanted children before he'd gone to prison. The fact that he was facing life in Azkaban made him realize that he didn't like not having the choice. Everybody liked choices. What if he _had_ wanted children? What if he wanted the option of choosing his own spouse? That would have been a fun argument with his parents. It all got wiped away when he thought he would never leave his cell. He had become nothing and nobody, only identified by the number on his back. It had made it quite hard to cope. Between the dementors eating little pieces of his soul and trying to come to terms with the fact that he had completely fucked himself over by chasing after his father's ambitions, he'd decided to do entirely too many drugs. Day in and day out he would take whatever he could get his hands on just to numb himself. It made it easier to take the daily Dementor assaults. He slept through most of his days and found he preferred downers because they helped him sleep. A task that was near impossible without help.

In Azkaban there were spells in place that muted magic. It made it impossible for _anyone_ to use their abilities within the walls. The prisoners were denied any kind of potion unless it was medically necessary, which made it so the witches and wizards serving sentences there had taken to smuggling in muggle substances. Or narcotics. Things Draco hadn't been too familiar with until he entered prison. He saw them as muggle potions. They just seemed much more dangerous than magic, in his opinion. He'd learned a bit about muggle medicine when he was in school and he knew they mostly used chemicals to heal themselves of ailments. The sideaffects were sometimes dentrimental to their health. Not to mention Draco hadn't expected the level of dependency he'd developed from using muggle narcotics daily. He had been warned to take it easy on the heroin, which in prison became his known drug of choice amongst the pushers in the Pen. It was a fact that Malfoy had money; so there was a surplus of connections being offered to him and quite a bit a competition between dealers.

If he had known he would only be spending five years in Azkaban he would've never tried any of that shit. He'd done drugs before when he and Pansy were younger but none of it had been as crazy as what he'd encountered in prison. That was the stuff that landed most muggles behind bars. Draco had never heard of a wizard getting addicted to any kind of potions. The only thing he had to relate to it was when a wizard enjoyed the drink a little more than he should.

He was also trying to figure out if he would be able to find anyone who knew where to get his variety of escape now that he was out...He could quit. That was an option too, but he found he wasn't ready to part ways with his coping mechanism just yet.

"Well now that you're out, isn't it a relief that you can think of those things again?" Pansy asked as she brushed her lips against his neck.

Not really. He found his only concern was figuring out how to get rid of his current need to get well. Although the coke had helped take the edge off, he still felt quite sick. Pansy slid her hand under his shirt completely, letting her nails drag along his flesh as she made her way up to his chest. She still knew which buttons to press. His breath hitched a bit in his throat at the sensation. He supposed when you'd known somebody as long as they'd known each other, you never really forgot. It was like riding a broom. Perhaps it was a worthy distraction.

"It could be," he muttered. "Are you going to give me some relief Pansy?" he asked.

"If you stop brooding so bloody much and let me," she said, beginning to plant light kisses along his jaw. He abruptly took her hand out of his shirt and pressed her into her mattress, pushing her bra off the pillow. She giggled as Draco finally began to return her advance. He didn't really care that it was her. It was just nice to have somebody. Anybody.

…...

"Didn't manage to tire yourself out?"

Draco cringed as he walked down the stairs into Pansy's living room. Pansy had fallen into a slightly restless sleep after their frenzied shagging. He found that that wasn't going to be so easy for him. Vincent sat on the couch with a bong in his lap staring at Draco from under a frump of shaggy curls that fell into his bloodshot eyes.

Draco chose not to respond as he made his way to the door, pulling his trenchcoat on as he went.

"Hit n run mate?"

Draco finally turned around to address the muggle on the couch.

"What's it to you?" he asked. "Maybe I've got somewhere else to be."

"At five in the morning? Didn't you just get out of prison er somethin?" Vincent took a rip of his bong and set it on the table that still had white powder spread carelessly across the surface. The girl on the couch was passed out in her knickers, one leg draped over a couch cushion. "Probably don't have a job to rush off to."

"You pry a lot into other people's business," Draco said, leaning against the front door. "Did I step on your toes or something?"

"Nothing I haven't had before," Vincent said with a shrug. Draco felt bile in the back of his throat at that thought. Classy lady, Pansy was. "No worries, mate. I'm just her roommate."

Roommate or mooch, Draco wasn't sure. But he really didn't care either way. It wasn't like he showed up here to reclaim Pansy as his own. He just hadn't had anywhere else to be. Vincent took a rolled up bill from the couch and brought it to one of the lines on the table. When he was finished he returned his attention to Draco.

"Do you partake?" he asked, holding the bill out to the blonde. Draco shook his head.

"Not my thing," he said. He had had enough of that junk in Pansy's room. His brain was feeling a little bit fried and over stimulated.

"What _is_ your thing?" Vincent asked. He was studying Draco. "You have that look about you."

"What look is that?" Draco asked. He was mildly amused with the conversation that had developed. He had known from the start that he and this man weren't going to become fast friends. However, he didn't see any harm in indulging this discussion.

"You use _something_. What's your poison?"

Draco considered the question. Poison was an accurate term to use.

"That depends. What can you get your hands on?" he asked Vincent. The other man chuckled.

"Anything," he said.

"Then lets chat," Draco replied. He took a seat across from Vincent.

That was a defining moment in Draco's life. He could've chosen to better himself after he was granted his freedom. He didn't even have to report to the Aurors regularly. He'd been released back into the world with all of his options open, no strings attached to his past. Except for maybe the Death Eaters that still roamed around. He often reflected on the fact that he should've returned home on the day he finished his sentence. But he hadn't. The problem was, Draco never stopped to think about the long term ramifications of his actions, until it was much too late for that. It was safe to say he was going to be digging himself further into an early grave. Sometimes at night when he couldn't sleep he remembered _her_ words. She had always seemed to put more faith in him than he deserved and the Gods only knew why. All he knew was she was the only one who had ever almost convinced him that he _could_ choose a different path. Granger.

…...

**1 Month Later**

The sound could be heard all the way downstairs. It was possible that everyone in the house felt the slap as well. Draco opened his eyes groggily to find none other than his mother standing over him in Pansy's room. Pansy watched from the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself chewing her lips.

"This is where you've been the entire time?" Narcissa asked angrily. "Not one word from you since your release and this is what I find?" Her voice was venomous. She picked up a spoon from the nightstand and examined it before throwing it at her son's face. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!"

Narcissa had pieced everything together. It was two in the afternoon and her son hadn't bothered to get out of bed. She knew of the vices that existed in the muggle world. She never in a million years would've thought her son would be stupid enough to fall for the false charm. Pansy had never been very bright. But her _son_?

Draco sat up, running one hand over his face.

"Hello mother," he said flatly. He didn't really know what else to say. He was still too numb to be alarmed by her discovery of him.

"Hello? Really Draco?" his mother went to sit down on the small couch across from the bed but thought better of it. There were syringes all over the nightstand and she didn't want to chance getting poked by anything. The silence stretched into the room like a cold draft.

"I think it would be best if you got your things and came home," Narcissa said after a pause, throwing a disgusted look in Pansy's direction. "I don't know what is going through your head but you obviously need help. I can't even believe the kind of people you've chosen to associate with. I just..." she trailed off, shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She looked very out of place in Pansy's room, dressed in her robes. Draco took in her appearance. His mother had aged but hadn't lost her beauty. He felt something inside of him relax as he took in her prescence. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her although the circumstances for their reunion were terrible.

"I can't go home," Draco replied bluntly. "Not now. You shouldn't be here mum," he said, rising to his feet. Narcissa looked like she wanted to cry. The man that stood in front of her wasn't her son. She took in his hair, which was much longer than it had been the last time she'd seen him. It was unkept. His eyes were hollow and sunken in with dark circles under them. She could see his cheekbones. His clothing was a different story. Feeling her eyes on him, Draco pushed down his sleeves, pausing to scratch at his arms.

"What have you done?" she asked, gaping at him. There had been very few times in Draco's life that he'd seen his mother truly shocked. She usually kept her emotions well hidden, her face a mask for whatever thoughts she may be harboring.

"I'm fine," Draco said. "Really. You should go home mother. Maybe we can talk about this another time..." In all honesty seeing his mother at a loss hurt him. He didn't want her to be disappointed in him. There were so many things he had buried inside of himself and that was one of them. He didn't want to face her. Not like this.

"I don't think we can talk, Draco. Not about this," she said. "I can't even comprehend _this_. What would your father think? And you-" Narcissa turned her attention to Pansy, her eyes narrowed to slits. "I never liked you. Look what you did to my son!"

Pansy had been up for a few days and wasn't in the mood for this kind of thing. Especially not in her own home.

"I didn't do _anything_ to your son," she snapped. Her and Draco both knew he'd managed to do this all on his own.

"Shut your mouth Pansy," Draco warned, inclining his face to her, not bothering to fully turn around. Pansy scoffed and left the room. He could hear her stomp down the stairs angrily muttering to herself as she retreated into a different part of the house. Narcissa looked murderous. For a moment she considered following Pansy and cursing her into the next life.

"I'll have your things sent here," Narcissa said. "I found out where you were after Gringotts informed me you'd cleaned out your savings. You're lucky you got to it before I realized that this was going on."

Draco watched his mother fidget in front of him. She wiped at her eyes and clutched her robes tighter around her.

"Look mum," he began. "There's some things going on that I don't think you'd understand-"

"I think I understand perfectly," Narcissa cut it. "You don't think I haven't figured out what all of this is?" she asked motioning to the paraphenalia on the bedside table. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know a thing or two about drugs." She spat the words at him as she approached the bedroom door.

"You don't know what it's like in there," Draco began. As the words passed over his lips it sounded more like an excuse than anything else. As time had passed he found there wasn't a way to justify his actions. There's was a point where mistakes turned into choices. "Why do you think I made sure you would never have to find out?" he finished. He had made quite a few deals with the Aurors to insure his mother never had to step foot in Azkaban. He didn't think she would make it very long in prison.

"I worried myself sick every night you spent in there. And every single day after you never arrived home," Narcissa snapped. "I just never thought a child of mine could be so _weak_!"

There was a small sigh behind him and he turned to realize his mother was gone. She hadn't even bothered to exit through the front door. He thought vaguely about how he was going to explain that to the the muggles downstairs but found he was now too stressed to give a damn about what they comprehended. He figured they probably didn't even know she'd been there to begin with. Draco ran his hand over the mattress until it fell upon what he was looking for. He grasped the spoon tight in his hand and set about making sure he could make this day go away. He was a little horrified to admit that it had happened at all.

**A/N: This is in no way going to be the focus of the whole story. It's just plot development to show how both characters are living. Draco runs into Hermione next chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I made some small changes to this chapter because I didn't like the way it read. Here we go. **

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco:**

He had spent the better half of the day arguing with Pansy. She was upset that he didn't really spend any time with her outside of trying to get his fix. The truth was, Draco's 'relationship' with Pansy was little more than him using her for her connections. Every so often they'd be intimate but for the most part it was him just getting rid of any urges he had.

"You don't care about me at all!" she'd yelled, flinging his clothes across the room at him. He rolled his eyes as he watched her antics, not really knowing if he should step in or not.

"Are you kicking me out again?" Draco asked flatly. His facial expression would've told anyone that he'd been doing this with her for a while already. It had been a month since he'd seen his mother and things had begun to get rocky. Pansy bent over and began throwing his clothes into a charmed bag that would fit all of his things into it.

"I want you out!" she snapped.

Pansy's cell phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her bra and flipped it open, before throwing that at Draco as well. He glanced at the small screen and brought it to his ear.

"Hey? You going to be able to do that for me or what?" he asked, standing from the bed and pulling a black sweatshirt over his shoulders. He threw the hood over his blonde hair and began putting his shoes on. Pansy let out an irritated chuckle.

"Yeah, you'll jump for that but you won't even take me out," she grumbled to herself. She opened a drawer in her dresser and began breaking out a line in her closet.

"Which cafe are you talking about?" Draco asked. He lit a cigarette and grabbed his wallet as he listened. "Well how about I give you a ring when I get over there?"

Pansy stared at him indignantly as he hung up the phone.

"How about we get a movie or something when I get back?" he asked her, completely ignoring the bag full of his possessions thrown onto the messy mattress. "Vincent is hooking you up in about an hour anyway. It'll be _fun_." He said the word as though it were completely foreign to him and didn't know what it meant.

"Oh yeah? Just like that. Did you not just hear anything I said to you?" she snapped.

"Come on. Don't be like that," he said entering the closet and pulling her up against him. She sighed, glaring up at him with her arms crossed over her cleavage.

"You always say that Draco. And then you come home and you do your shit and pass out," she argued. "I'm tired of this."

"I'm tired of a lot of things. But like you said, I come _home_," he muttered. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to borrow this okay?" he said holding up her small flip phone in his hand. "You can call if you want."

Pansy shook her head, but he knew she wasn't actually serious. She never was. It was the perfect definition of a codependent relationship in which she probably cared about him more than he did about her.

"How long do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a couple hours at most," he mused. "I still need to get over there. It's that cafe by Holiday park across from the book store. I don't know if Jasper is going to get there right away. Sometimes it's a wait."

"Tell Jasper to hurry his arse then. I'm pretty sure he stays right across the street from Holiday Park," she snapped. "Call me when he shows up."

Draco gave her a quick peck that was anything but intimate and then smacked her on her ass before he exited the closet.

…...

"Hey, I'm here," Draco said when Jasper finally picked up his phone. He sat down on a table outside of the cafe, resting his foot on the opposite chair. "About how long do you think?" he asked. Jasper told him it would be about ten minutes. Draco hung up the cell phone and took in the street ahead of him. It was much too bright outside as he watched housewives laze around the small shopping square, until he caught sight of someone who looked vaguely familiar.

She was standing outside of a toy shop with a little boy at her hip. He was pointing at something in the window. She smiled down at him and began to usher him down the street, when Draco caught sight of Jasper about ten paces behind her. He returned his attention to the woman, taking note of her appearance.

She was dressed in a form fitting white shirt and a pair of muggle jeans that hugged her hips. Her long brown hair flowed loosely down her back in soft ringlets. His eyes widened a little when he finally realized who she was, as her and the small boy made their way towards him. Hermione fucking Granger. Draco realized he was leaning forward a little too far in his seat and sat back quickly averting his eyes from the witch he hadn't seen for quite some time. The last time he'd seen her had been something he hadn't really thought about until right now.

Jasper sat down in front of him.

"Sketch much?" he asked taking in Draco's appearance. The blonde had his body turned awkwardly away from the street. Draco was trying not to draw attention to himself but he felt his eyes wander back across the street where he saw Granger and the little boy enter the book shop. He was pretty sure his eyes hadn't deceived him and if he wasn't mistaken he was pretty sure Granger had a son.

"You got my stuff?" Draco asked. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, throwing the money at Jasper.

"You know, the most important part of these kind of things is _discretion_, Draco," Jasper said peering over his pink tinted sunglasses disapprovingly. "Unless you want to land yourself and _me_ back into prison."

"Can we hurry this up?" Draco asked, still peering at the bookshop. "I kind of have somewhere to be."

"You and me both," Jasper said taking the money off the table. "Pansy gripping you by your jewels or what?"

Draco stood and held out his hand in a manner that said he was parting ways. Jasper mimicked him and shook his hand, the transaction completed. Draco stuffed the baggy in his pocket, hurrying across the road. He wasn't thinking at all anymore. Usually he would have been in a hurry to get home so he could get high and move on with his day. The drugs, however had been momentarily forgotten.

"I never took you as a reader, mate," Jasper called as the blonde practically ran towards the bookstore. "You're welcome by the way!" Draco barely paid him attention as he reached his destination.

"Fuckin junkies," Jasper grumbled under his breath as he turned to head back to his flat.

"Thanks," Draco called before he pulled the door open and stepped inside. He spotted Granger at the counter talking to the person at the register. The little boy was nowhere in sight. He hadn't thought this far ahead and took a sharp left, weaving his way through the bookshelves until he found himself in a small clearing. The children's section. There were a number of small tables and even smaller chairs, colorful carpeting and a little boy pulling books off the shelf seated atop a bean bag chair.

Draco stared at him as he slowly approached him, feeling like it was a little creepy to be sneaking up on strange little boys who were without their mothers. He didn't know why he was curious. It was the boy's mother that had brought him into the bookstore in the first place. He had little interest in her son. He stopped for a moment to wonder who Granger had ended up with after the war. The light brown hair and pale freckles skin of the boy didn't suggest Weasley, who he'd been sure Granger would end up marrying one day. The little boy stood and brought a small stack of books to one of the tables before he looked up and Draco felt his heart stop. The little boy had discovered he was being watched and was now staring at Draco with wide eyes. Eyes that were the exact same shade of gray as his own. He felt his palms get sweaty as he took in the rest of the boy's features and tried to figure out how old he looked. He was also trying to understand why the little guy reminded him so much of himself.

"Xavier?" Hermione called. Her approaching footsteps could be heard from somewhere to Draco's right but he found he couldn't move. He didn't know what strange fate was at work here but didn't have much time to examine those thoughts before Hermione spotted him.

She would've known him anywhere. Draco watched as she quickly closed the distance between her and her child, shoving the boy behind her protectively. She had dropped a small envelope on the ground and had one hand behind her back slightly, where he could only assume she had her wand hidden. The other hand was on the little boy who was holding onto her leg, peering at Draco from behind his mother. Granger's light brown eyes were wide and her mouth was set in a tight line that told Draco if he came any closer, there would be problems.

"Granger," he began slowly. "What is _that_?" he asked motioning to the child she was shielding from him.

…...

Hermione's heart was beating so hard she could hear it in her ears. She was trying to comprehend how this could've possibly happened. It had been a couple months since Malfoy's release and it was safe to say he'd disappeared. Nobody had seen or heard anything about him since he'd gotten out. She was beginning to think he had crawled into that proverbial hole that Ginny had mentioned. She had begun to relax as time passed, but only just. And now he was standing right in front of her, in her current place of employment, gaping at her..._their_ son.

"It's a _child_, Malfoy," she snapped at him. That was the only thing she could think of to say.

"_Your_ child?" Malfoy asked. Hermione acknowledged the fact that he looked completely baffled. She could see the wheels turning in his mind and knew it wasn't a good thing. She wasn't sure how to detach Xavier and herself from this situation but it seemed he wasn't here to attack her... At least not thus far into their exchange so she bent down and plucked her paycheck from the ground and then turned to pick up her son.

"Mummy. It's that man from the paper," the little boy whispered at his mother. Hermione cringed and began to make her way to the front door of the shop, Draco close behind her.

"Granger, how old his he?" Draco demanded. The little boy called Xavier was watching Draco follow them and Draco was becoming more and more sure by the moment that he and Granger needed to discuss something. The little boy had some of his mother's features as well but there was honestly no denying that Xavier resembled Draco in a way that only someone who shared the same genetics as him could.

"Don't do this," Hermione mumbled as she began to walk hurriedly down the street. It was more of a warning than anything else.

"Please just answer the question," Draco said, meeting her quick strides with his own. It wasn't hard to keep up with a petite witch who was hoisting a small child. Draco didn't usually beg for things but the more he took in the child the more panicked he became. Hermione turned into an alleyway and began walking to the back.

"Granger? _Granger_!" he said, finally reaching out. Hermione felt him grab onto her arm as he placed himself in front of her. She finally met his gaze and took him in. He still looked like Malfoy...but he was a much thinner, much more tired looking version of himself. She looked down at the hand he had on her arm, which was dangerously close to touching Xavier as well, and took in his bare arm, that still had the dark mark plastered to it like some kind of joke. He had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow where her eyes took in small red marks that polluted his pale flesh. Her eyes met his, her brow crinkled and she took a couple steps back from him.

"Is... he _mine_?" Draco finally asked the question hesitantly, as though he was afraid of what she might say. It was then that she heard a cell phone ring and took advantage of the momentary distraction. She apparated away from him, taking her son with her.

…...

Hermione landed in her apartment, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her hands were shaking horribly. She set her son down on the couch and sat down next to him staring up at her ceiling fan, blinking rapidly, trying to get herself under control. There were a number of things that were running through her head. Harry and Ron had set up certain precautions for her just in case Malfoy had tried to get into contact with her. Although Hermione hadn't thought that was a probable outcome of his release she hadn't written it off. After all, she was Hermione Granger and he was... Malfoy. She doubted she even came to mind when Draco made his list of people he wanted to catch up with when he was finally free.

She'd been given a small charmed ring that was meant for emergencies... Such as the one that had just occurred. Hermione wasn't one to play a damsel in distress and had decided she would only use it if she felt she couldn't handle a situation on her own. Like if she was being attacked by Death Eaters. Or Malfoy. Although she didn't think that would happen. Draco had never made an attempt to hurt her after the night he'd showed up at her parent's home for the first time. They had come to an agreement that evening and he had kept his word. Hermione had wanted to avoid involving Aurors in her life as much as possible. If it could be avoided, she would avoid it. She didn't want Aurors posted outside of her flat day and night just to make sure Malfoy wouldn't find her.

"Mummy?" Xavier asked. She turned her attention to her son who was sitting next to her looking concerned. He was holding out a tissue, which he used to clumsily dab at tears she hadn't realized had fallen. Xavier wasn't sure if he should ask questions. He wasn't even sure which questions he should ask. He wrapped his arms around his mum and gave her soft kisses on each of her cheeks. He could see a smile spread across her lips as she brought her hands up and began rubbing his back.

"It's okay. I won't let anybody be mean to you," Xavier said after a moment. Hermione laughed softly.

"I love you baby," she said.

"Love you too," Xavier replied. The two of them sat there for a few minutes before Hermione realized she was missing something. She quickly checked her jean pockets and the couch. Then she skimmed the floor and realized she didn't have it. She had gone to her work to pick up her paycheck. She had thought about waiting until the next day when she returned to work but decided she wanted to take Xavier shopping for some new pants. He'd taken a small growth spurt and now most of his jeans rested too high on his little legs. It was time.

"Oh Merlin," she muttered, placing her hand on her forehead. There were several curse words going through her mind. How could she have possibly just lost her whole paycheck? She wanted to apparate back into the alley and smack Malfoy briskly across his face, and perhaps hope that her paycheck was still there but thought better of it. Tomorrow, when she reported back to her job she would just have to request her boss order her another one. This was the first time something like this had happened. She knew she should probably contact Harry and let him know what had just happened but wasn't sure she wanted to involve him. At least not at this point. If it became a problem she most definitely would, but she was hoping this was just some freak occurrence that happened from time to time. Besides, why would Malfoy want to keep pushing the issue? She was sure he wouldn't want to actually claim Xavier as his own. It wasn't as if he could be considered pure-blooded. If anything he'd probably just put it out of his mind. Hermione didn't know how wrong she truly was. She didn't realize it was a naïve decision to choose to be optimistic instead of announcing the incident to her friends. There was a part of her that wanted to see how it would play out, despite the dangers. She supposed it could be considered a small amount of morbid curiosity.

…...

Draco sat on the balcony in Pansy's room, staring at the envelope on the small glass table next to him, where his cigarette was burning. It was Granger's paycheck, which was ridiculously small in his opinion. He had quickly realized that she worked at the bookshop when he'd retrieved the envelope from the floor. He had taken note that her home address was there and was formulating a plan. Draco's head was spinning as he kept picturing Granger's son. He had to know for sure...He remembered the last time he'd seen Granger before the Aurors had caught him. That would've been the night it happened. It was _one_ time. But his mother had always told him to be careful. It only takes _one_ time.

_ Hermione sat in front of Draco at the kitchen bar, an open bottle of fire whiskey between them. She had been the one to ask him here and he wasn't sure why. He thought maybe she needed to tell him something but realized quickly that wasn't the case, when he'd arrived to find Granger slightly tipsy in her kitchen. She pushed the bottle towards him and made a small motion with her hand. _

_ "Want some?" she asked. Draco had had quite a stressful day himself and took the bottle, staring at her suspiciously. _

_ "You're not trying to kill me right?" he'd asked. It was mostly a joke. Draco knew better than anyone that there was always a small amount of truth tied to every joke. _

_ "I gave you my word. Remember?Drink with me you twat," she said, pushing the bottle towards him an inch further. Draco took a swig from the bottle as he took in Hermione's appearance. Her features looked drawn. These days more and more people were dying and it wasn't a secret that Arthur Weasley had just joined the deceased. He stopped for a moment to consider the thought that the loss may have pushed Granger over the edge. Another father figure gone. _

_ "So er...How are you?" he asked. He'd never really tried hard to have casual conversations with Hermione but they clearly weren't meeting on official business. Needless to say their conversations often led to other topics after said official business was out of the way. Draco wondered what his presence represented to her in this moment. He also realized it shouldn't matter to him. Hermione picked up the bottle and took another drink. She made a face and breathed out deeply, wafting the scent of fire whiskey across Draco's face. _

_ "I feel strangely out of place," Hermione stated bluntly._

_ "Well...this is something we haven't done before," Draco drawled. _

_ "No...I mean...in my life," she said. Draco took in her words and wondered where this was going. _

_ "How so?" he asked lamely. He'd never been great with feelings. He was a Malfoy. That wasn't their forte. _

_ "Before I found out the truth about what I am...I didn't have many friends..." _

_ Draco wasn't surprised. Muggle Granger and Granger were still the same person after all. She was a bit of a bookworm. He stopped his thoughts from crossing into asshole territory and directed his attention back to her. He figured it wasn't good manners to sit there and think badly of someone when they were sharing their bottle with you. Not to mention Granger often talked to him in length about life and things he would've never considered before her. He'd never put much weight into the depth of a person, but with her he found that discovering depth had been a pleasant surprise. He supposed people who read as much as she did probably pondered a lot of crazy things. _

_ "Then I got the letter and came to Hogwarts and for the first time I had friends. And I think it kind of happened by accident," she began. "But for the most part it was a good accident and for the first time in my whole life I felt like I'd found what I was meant to do."_

_ Draco sipped from her bottle and nodded to show that he was listening. _

_ "But a couple days ago, when Arthur was killed," she paused, her watery gaze meeting his. "I saw the way the Weasley's supported each other. And although they were there for me when my parents died, I felt like I was intruding on them. And it made me realize that I lost the only people on this earth that were actually mine."_

_ Draco didn't know what that was like. He didn't even understand what it would be like to have such an intimate relationship with his parents. He had a feeling that even after the day came that they parted ways he wouldn't quite understand the level of grief she was experiencing. He loved his mother in his own way and was sure it would be hard. But he hadn't had to find out yet. He could relate with her on one thing. And that was the fact that he knew what it was like to feel alone. He knew loneliness. He reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. She looked startled at the sudden contact but slowly brought her hand up to his. He watched her with utter fascination as she brought his thumb to her lips and planted a small kiss there. He was shocked. He knew that the alcohol probably had a lot to do with the gesture but found he couldn't tear himself away from her as she slowly stood up in front of him. She walked around the kitchen bar until she was standing directly in front of him, staring into his eyes with guarded vulnerability. _

_ She brought her small hands up to his face and guided his lips to hers as though she were trying something she'd never experienced before. He stopped only for a moment to consider that maybe she hadn't. He'd never heard of her dating anyone steadily. And then their lips crashed together and all other thoughts escaped him. The only thing he was aware of was her body in such close proximity to his. She backed him out of the kitchen into the the living room where he was abruptly shoved roughly onto a couch. Draco looked up at her, his brain clouded with some kind of desire he'd never felt before. Perhaps cause she was somebody he'd never thought about in that way up until now. Maybe it was just because he was male and his brain had temporarily vacated the premises. _

_ She paced in front of him for a minute, her hair wild around her face. Draco took her in, thinking that she looked very much like a lion studying her prey. She then moved forward and straddled him, pressing her thighs tightly against his hips. Her light brown eyes burned into his as she grabbed his hand and placed it over one of her breasts. _

_ Draco lost it. He gripped a handful of her hair and brought her mouth back to his, slipping his tongue between her lips as his hands struggled with the buttons on her blouse. He eventually decided to just rip her shirt open and found that she wasn't wearing any under garments. She was planting rough kisses along his jawline and neck, where he could feel her teeth scraping gently against his skin. It was going to happen. He was about to take Hermione Granger... He lowered her to the carpet...On her parent's living room floor. The world truly had gone insane. _

_ Hermione's hands had found his belt buckle. She popped it open with one finger and undid his belt. He helped her a bit as he took in her bare heaving chest. He pushed her gently back onto the carpet and undid her pants, pulling them down her legs. She lifted her hips slightly to make it easier and then watched as he took his pants down. Draco could tell she was nervous. There was a slight pink tinge across her cheeks and chest...But that could've meant she was aroused too. She kept her knees pressed together momentarily until he brought his hands up and parted her legs, coming forward so he could rest between them, feeling her soft thighs pressed against his hips. He brought his mouth to her neck and began kissing her, letting his hands discover her body. She pressed her lips to his cheek, her breath coming out roughly against his skin. He felt her legs widen a bit more, closing the gap between them and he took that opportunity to connect them. It was one swift movement that made Hermione gasp underneath him. _

_ He wasn't sure how long it lasted but when it was over they both lay sprawled panting on the carpet, still exposed in the most intimate of ways. He'd left her a short time later when the mark on his forearm had begun to burn. Granger hadn't made it into anything complicated. She walked him to the door and they'd exchanged a small hug. The first ever. He'd told her he would be in touch but that wasn't to be. Draco was apprehended a week later. _

His cigarette was gone now. He had thought at some point that perhaps he and Hermione were on the way to becoming friends but had always told himself not to be ridiculous. It was strange when he thought of being friends with her because it wasn't like any of his other friendships that were kept solely out of convenience. He had chosen her on his own. Hermione was good. Truly good. And she hadn't turned him away. That night was a turning point for Draco. He had definitely intended to see her again. He wasn't sure when or what his excuse would be but his mind always came back to one thing. When she had felt alone she had sought him out.

Draco sat on the the balcony truly taking in what had happened today. It was possible that he'd left Hermione with child. His child. And now his life was an utter mess. He wasn't sure how old Xavier was but he knew he had to be around five by now and that did nothing but confirm what he was already thinking. This was the last thing Draco had expected to happen when he had been released. What the hell was he going to do if he did have a child? He looked down at the syringe that had been sitting in his lap since he'd gotten home. He collected Granger's paycheck and tucked it into the pocket of his pants before he made his way to the bathroom.

Pansy came into her room and addressed him, "You feeling better now?" she asked tonelessly. When Draco had arrived home he'd been beside himself. Needless to say he'd bit her head off and then locked himself in the bathroom for about half an hour.

"Almost," Draco said. "How about you pick a movie?"

Pansy just nodded and turned on her television. He shut the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**What Lies Beneath**

**Hermione:**

Hermione stared at the clock on the computer in front of her. She had spent the better half of her day not doing much, which was very unlike her. She always made it a point to be productive at her job, but found it exceedingly difficult on this day in particular. She didn't get distracted easily from tasks she had categorized as escape methods, but she was in no mood to organize books today. Or help customers find books. Or take orders for books. Books... She was surprised with herself. She never thought she'd see the day that she was tired of books. She had fifteen minutes left. Her boss came out of his office, turning off the light behind him.

"I'm headed out," he told her. She nodded absently and began chewing the end of her pen, "You alright Hermione?" he asked, taking in her worried appearance. "You've been quiet all day."

"I just haven't been myself lately," she muttered. "I'm sorry. I'll be alright tomorrow. I think I'm just tired."

"Look," he came and stood next to her behind the counter, holding his coat and hat in his hand, his bald head gleaming in the sunlight. "Why don't you think about taking your vacation time? I don't mind giving it to you. You haven't once taken time off since you started here-" Hermione began to protest but he pushed on. "And that was four years ago." Her boss didn't want to bring up the fact that he'd noticed how tired and uneasy she'd seemed to be the last couple months.

"I don't need the time off," she began. "Really. Just some rest-"

Mr. Flannigan held his hand up. "I won't have it dear. The wife and I really appreciate how committed you are to this shop. So don't take this the wrong way. I know that it's just you and your boy and that must be exhausting. So why don't you take a few weeks paid vacation on me and Becky? Go somewhere nice or whatever. The time has stacked up in the last few years and you should use it."

"But what will you do? I don't want to leave you two to handle everything on your own," Hermione said. She almost felt guilty to accept such a generous offer. She was also wondering what the hell she would do to pass her time if she didn't work. At least when she was working she felt like she was being productive. Making money was a worthy way to spend one's time.

"Becky has been talking about having our granddaughter come in and help around the shop. Her mother is having a rather hard time with her and thought an after school job would help keep her out of trouble. I was going to talk to you about it sometime this week. But I'm sure Becky could train Priscilla while you're away. I'm not too sure how long it'll last but I have to try and help out my daughter," Mr. Flannigan sighed.

"I don't mind training her," Hermione insisted. "Maybe after that I could take my vacation?"

"Hermione, you and I both know if I let you do that you won't take it at all," Mr. Flannigan scolded her. "Take some time for you and your son."

"Like...Right now?" Hermione asked. She sounded like a dumb adolescent herself in that moment and inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Yes. Starting now. Let's close the shop and get out of here," Mr. Flannigan said. Hermione leaned in and gave her boss a hug. He returned it and patted her on the back in a fatherly manner. "You deserve it."

A few minutes later, Hermione was exiting the shop with her boss. Mr. Flannigan had his back turned away from the street as he was fiddling with his keys, getting ready to lock the door. Hermione had glanced across the road and dropped her purse when she saw a tall blonde coming towards her with two coffees in his hands. Her jaw dropped open. Mr. Flannigan bent to pick up her purse and when he rose to his feet, grimacing a bit at the pain in his back, he came face to face with the blonde as well.

"Before you flip," Malfoy began. "I wanted to give you this. And also see if you have a minute?" Hermione looked down at his outstretched hand. He held a coffee and what she could only guess was her lost paycheck. She swallowed hard and turned towards her boss who was holding out her purse.

"Thanks," she muttered, sliding the small bag over her shoulder. Mr. Flannigan was eying Malfoy suspiciously and Hermione had no doubt it was due to his appearance, which she was a little put off by herself. She'd never seen him look so... He was always so proper. Impeccably dressed. Impeccable manners, except when nobody was watching. It was safe to say he was always up to pureblood standards. This was an entirely different man who stood in front of her. Someone who looked like he'd been living hard for the last several years. He wore a shaggy looking black hoodie, and a pair of black jeans that were too baggy for him. His hair came down just below his ears, still slicked away from his face, but not styled. He looked much too thin... Almost like he was on something like some of the muggles she sometimes saw hang out on the street corner. Hermione wondered if he _was_ on something. Or just sick. Either way he looked like hell and it made her uncomfortable.

"Will you be alright Hermione?" her boss asked, his face painted with concern. "I could call you a cab..."

Draco's eyes rested briefly on Mr. Flannigan. There wasn't much expression in them as far as Hermione's boss was concerned. Malfoy seemed utterly uninterested in the man. He then shifted his gray eyes back to her and held out the coffee a little further. If it had been sometime in the past, he would've properly introduced himself to the man, just to be polite. But Draco wasn't that person anymore. The worried expression on the man's face made Draco feel a little self conscious. He'd never been looked at in that manner before. You would think he'd come up to the potential mother of his child and tried to mug her.

"It's fine Mr. Flannigan," Hermione began. If something was going to happen, she didn't want her boss to be here for it. She found that her fingers were restlessly twisting her emergency ring around her finger. All she had to do was think the incantation and that would be the end of it for Malfoy. However, for some reason that she couldn't identify, the idea of getting Malfoy into trouble again, so soon after he'd gotten out of Azkaban seemed almost heartless. After all, he hadn't done anything to her for a very long time and didn't look like he was going to start now. "I know him..." she said.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Flannigan asked.

"I'm positive. It's fine," she said giving the older man a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her voice came out sounding almost robotic and choppy. He cast one last apprehensive glance towards Malfoy before he began making his way down the street.

"Give me a ring when you get home, Hermione," he called over his shoulder. "And enjoy your vacation."

"Thank you. I will!" she said sounding more enthusiastic than she felt. She didn't want her boss to worry. He had been a good friend to her over the years and knew her quite well. She wasn't surprised to see the shock on his face when he saw Draco. He knew Hermione didn't usually associate with rough crowds and Malfoy looked utterly out of place in the muggle shopping square. Just like he would've if he'd popped up in the middle of the street in full wizard attire. Two very opposite extremes, but Hermione found she would've preferred the latter of the two.

She turned towards Malfoy, all signs of her insincere happiness gone from her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

He held out the coffee once more, her paycheck wrapped around the cup.

"Can we sit down?" he asked.

She snatched the cup out of his hand and promptly put her paycheck in her purse. It was void now, seeing as she'd asked her boss for a new one.

"I have to pick up my son, Malfoy. I can't just sit down for a moment," she snapped. She began walking down the street. "Thanks for bringing my check."

This time Malfoy was going to stop her before she made it into the alleyway.

"Granger," he began, quickening his pace so he could block her escape route. "I know I don't have a right to just come barging into your life after all this time... And after everything that happened. And I may not even have the right to ask you about him..."

"You don't," Hermione said bluntly.

"BUT I saw you and I saw him yesterday. I was sitting right over there," he said pointing to the small cafe where he had undoubtedly got the coffee she was now holding. "And I couldn't help but get up and come into your job-" Hermione felt the pit of her stomach twist and realized that Malfoy had access to her check, which had her home address on it. She looked very alarmed as Malfoy pushed on, "-And it wasn't to start trouble. It's just been so long since I've seen someone that I know... I wasn't even thinking...And then I saw him..."

"Listen very carefully Malfoy," Hermione interrupted. Her brain was beginning to go into overload. She didn't think she'd ever heard Draco speak so openly about needing human companionship. Or needing anything from anyone for that matter. He'd always been so closed and sure of himself. "I don't know what you believe you saw in my son. But you need to drop it. He's not yours." It was a blatant lie and it sounded like one too. Hermione even thought it was cruel of her. She couldn't explain the guilt she was feeling. This was Draco Malfoy for fucking sake! Why would she feel guilty? Draco's shoulders slumped for a moment and that just made the feeling worse.

"I wouldn't have come all the way back over here and waited for two fucking hours if I believed that Granger," Malfoy said quietly. He sipped his coffee looking utterly pathetic as he leaned against the wall. "Maybe I just needed something good after everything." The remark surprised Hermione. How could Draco Malfoy consider a child with _her_ to be a good thing? The blonde reached up and pulled his sunglasses over his eyes, pulling a crooked cigarette out of his hoodie. Hermione watched as he lit it and took a drag. It was the first time that Hermione noticed a small cross tattooed on his ring finger on the middle part between his knuckles. She couldn't bring herself to just walk away. He was a shadow of his former self and pretty much looked like he expected to be rejected. Or already assumed he had been.

"What the hell happened to you Malfoy?" she asked him. He glanced over at her and nodded towards her coffee.

"Drink with me you twat," he said with a small grin that seemed completely out of place for him. Just as out of place as his remark had been. As quickly as it had come, it vanished. Hermione was forced to remember the night they had made Xavier. She shook her head.

"You sure you're not trying to kill me?" she asked. She wanted him to know she was acknowledging the reference to the last time she'd seen him.

"I gave you my word didn't I?" Draco asked. "A Malfoy's word is sacred. No matter how much time passes." Hermione thought about his words for a moment and nodded.

"Hold on," she said. She felt anxious and didn't know why she was caving so easily, but she wanted to know what he had to say. She walked a little ways away from Malfoy, pulled out her phone and dialed Molly's number.

"Hello?" Molly answered on the second ring.

"Hey... It's Hermione..."

"Is everything alright dear?" she asked. Hermione could hear her stirring something. The boys were laughing and screeching in the background. It reminded Hermione vaguely of the monkeys at the zoo.

"Yes everything's fine. I was wondering if it would be possible to keep Xavier a little longer this evening? Something came up," she said lamely glancing back at the father of her child. She still couldn't believe he was actually standing there, in front of her work. Again.

"Of course dear. We're getting ready to have supper. You're more than welcome to join if you're not going to be too long. Ginny's already on her way. Harry has to work late tonight so her and James are going to stay over."

"That sounds lovely. I shouldn't be too long. Are you sure it's not an inconvenience to you?" she asked. She didn't want Molly to think she was taking advantage of her. At the same time, when did she ever ask Molly to keep her son late?

"Oh please Hermione," Molly scolded. "It's never an inconvenience to have the boys. It gets awfully quiet around here when the little ones aren't around," she said. "Just come when you can."

Hermione thanked her and ended the call before returning her attention back to Malfoy. He was still standing where she'd left him, fidgeting restlessly on the sidewalk.

"Do you want to sit down for a moment?" she asked him. Draco walked towards her quickly. Hermione didn't know it, but he would've liked that more than anything in the world. They made their way across the street, back to the little cafe and sat down at one of the tables.

"Thank you," he said as he settled into his seat. He took off his sunglasses and put them down on the table as Hermione looked him over. She didn't know why she felt inclined to accept his invitation to impromptu coffee but there was an air of sadness to him she couldn't shake. She wasn't used to seeing Malfoy in such a state. Not even towards the end of the war when things were beginning to get a little too ugly for both of them.

"You don't have to thank me," Hermione said simply, running her finger around the rim of her coffee lid.

"I do," he said. "I'm pretty sure you could've hexed the shit out of me on sight but you didn't."

Hermione could've made it look like an accident. A heart attack or aneurism. After everything she'd been through she would never take another life... Unless that person was threatening the well being of her or her son, which Malfoy hadn't done yet. Things were silent for a moment. Malfoy tapped his fingertips on the glass tabletop as though he was searching for the right words.

"So I'm pretty sure you didn't just come here to return my paycheck," she murmured breaking the awkward silence.

"I've already made that clear," Draco replied. "I don't see a ring on your finger _Miss Granger_. Which tells me you haven't tied the knot with anybody thus far... Which kind of makes me think there isn't a man around for you and your son."

He was cutting right to the point wasn't he?

"I already told you-"

"That he's not mine, right?" Malfoy asked. He leaned forward a little bit. "I _don't_ believe you."

"That's presumptuous," Hermione snapped. She was beginning to rethink coffee.

"I don't think it is," he argued flatly. He took another sip of his coffee, leaning back in his seat. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly and then began chewing on a loose strand of blonde hair that had brushed against his lips.

"Of course you don't." Hermione bit the inside of her cheek in irritation. "So what's with the clothes? You look like the real slim shady."

"The what?" Draco asked staring at her quizzically. She nodded towards his outfit with her eyebrows raised. He then glanced down at his attire and shrugged. "I borrowed them from someone."

"You _borrowed_ them from someone?" Hermione asked. She was trying not to snort. "Since when does a _Malfoy_ borrow clothes from a muggle?"

"Since all my slacks are in the wash," he drawled shortly. "I didn't want to miss you. So I came by hoping you'd be here. When I saw that you were... I waited."

"That's a little bit stalkerish Malfoy," Hermione said. Draco sniffed and rubbed at his nose a little bit.

"I'm not stalking you," he said defensively. He looked down at the table, his shoulders and jaw tense. "I didn't expect to run into you here yesterday. I was meeting someone else. I didn't know what I would say to you... Or how you would react. I know you probably haven't thought of me since that night..."

That was an understatement. Hermione had thought of Malfoy every single day since their night together. Since she'd found out she was with child. And every day after Xavier was born. How could she not? Every time she looked at her son she was reminded of him. Of course the memory of him didn't hold any sentimental value to her. It's just hard to forget about someone who impregnated you, and before that you had almost killed on a few different occasions, and _before_ _that_ used to be the most racist bully you'd ever come across.. _ever_... In your entire life. Of course she couldn't tell him that. That would mean she would have to admit her son was his and she wanted to see if there was still a way out of that scenario.

"-But I still wanted to talk to you. I'm not sure why..." Draco trailed off, staring at her expectantly. His expression said he didn't want to keep rambling on but wasn't sure what else to do. Hermione didn't offer any assistance.

"I know it's possible he's mine, Granger," Draco said finally, letting out a deep breath. "I was with you. And we weren't protected. And he looks like me..."

"You don't think there's any other fair skinned, gray eyed, pretty boys out there other than you?" she asked. Her tone wasn't condescending or even mildly amused. It mostly just sounded flat. "Or that I wouldn't have slept with anyone other than you around that time?"

"Did you?" he asked. "Because if you can seriously tell me there's someone else and mean it...And tell me you're absolutely sure they're his father... Then I won't push you any further. Although I'm quite sure, if that's the case, that I have a doppelganger running around and would be rather curious to meet him. I just don't believe you were doing a lot of sleeping around during the war."

"What makes you think that you know me that well?" Hermione snapped. "It's not as if you and I were friends. Or ever have been-"

"I know that...Gods do I know that..." Draco murmured as she continued. He was beginning to get a headache.

"So how could you be so sure?" she finished. She looked far more agitated about the situation than she should have if there _was_ somebody else. If there was, why was she sitting there. She could've just showed him a picture in her little cellular phone and been done with it.

"I think we could have been friends. You always talked with me as though I was your friend. You even called me to your home that night. I wasn't uninvited. And you could've called anyone else in the world. Potter...Any number of the Weasleys or members of the Order. And Potter probably would've been more help than I was in that situation. All I could do was shag you. He doesn't have any parents either-" Hermione felt a slight tinge of discomfort when Malfoy uttered those words. She felt her hands begin to tingle and she pressed them against the table as though she were going to get up and leave. Draco's speech had picked up speed as he continued. "But you called _me_. Why would you do that?" he asked. His eyes were burning into hers and she found she couldn't keep the contact for fear that he might see the tears that had begun to well up. She looked away and took the first sip of her coffee that she'd had since he'd popped up in the street. It had gone cold and tasted vaguely like vanilla.

"I was being kind. It's not hard," Hermione said softly. She willed her heart rate to slow down.

"Why would you show me kindness? You've hated me most of your life," Draco snapped. He'd never been very good at acknowledging other people's feelings. Hermione doubted he even realized that he'd hit a nerve.

"I've _known_ you most of my life, Malfoy. I didn't keep hating you. I know we didn't speak in depth about what our lives were like outside of our meetings. But you told me enough to convince me you weren't happy. As a matter of fact, the sheer fact that we never spoke in depth about it is a plain give away. Why would you be supplying one of your enemies with information that would not only bring your people down, but your family as well...Why would you risk that if you wanted the same outcome to the war that your parents did?"

"I was tired of people dying," Draco said. He wasn't looking in her direction anymore either. She blinked rapidly, trying to spread the tears around her eyes so they would dry up. "I may be a lot of horrible things...But I do have a soul."

"I know," Hermione said simply, taking a deep breath. "And that's why I don't hate you. Doesn't mean I like you either."

"Which would explain why you don't want to tell me the truth about _your_ son," Malfoy drawled. "Why would you want a child with me? _I_ wouldn't even want a child with me!" she watched as Malfoy dug around in his hoode and extracted another crumpled cigarette. He raised it to his lips and attempted to light it. That was when she noticed his hands were trembling. He threw his lighter down on the glass table with a small _clack_ and snapped his fingers. The cigarette ignited loudly, the tip suddenly in flames. He took the cigarette from his lips and blew out the flame, stared at it through angry slits for a moment before he heaved the cigarette away from him. A gesture of pure frustration. Hermione stared at the cigarette on the floor, watching a small tendril of smoke escaping the tip. The breeze blew on it and it moved a couple inches before coming to rest in a crack, where it went out.

"_What_ is going on with you?" Hermione asked. Her brows were creased and she looked troubled as she gazed at him with her light brown eyes. He watched as the breeze carried a short strand of hair into her eyes. She was beautiful. And not in the synthetic way that Pansy was. It was natural.

"A lot," Draco scoffed bitterly as his eyes trailed back to the cigarette he'd discarded only a moment ago. "Son of a bitch," he growled. He got up and snatched the cigarette out of the crack and lit it again with a snap of his fingers. He took a long drag and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked pale.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked. He still hadn't returned to his seat.

"I want to sleep," Draco ran his hand over his face. "Things have been far from perfect for me since I got out Granger." As he spoke, smoke escaped from his lips. He took another drag and let it out through his nose.

"Of course it's not going to be perfect-" Hermione began.

"You don't understand," Draco said with a derisive laugh as he shook his head. "You're lucky you don't."

She wasn't sure what to say to him. She opened her mouth and closed it again.

"I understand you have your reasons for not wanting me to be apart of his life," Draco said quietly. "I've thought about all that. I just know you wouldn't still be sitting here trying to convince me of false truths if it wasn't necessary. Like if that boy does have a father somewhere else. Which tells me there isn't one...I just wish you would understand what his existence actually means to me."

"What would it mean to you?" she asked him. "It's not as if he's a pureblood."

Draco felt his pulse quicken. Not because she'd just stated that his son wasn't pure... That meant very little to him. It was her question. It was almost as if she was resigned to the fact that they both knew the truth. Draco felt it in his gut when he first laid eyes on her son. It was almost as though his core had recognized Xavier...They shared the same magic. Before now he hadn't referred to her son by his name. Not to himself. It would make him too real.

"I don't give a shit about that," Draco replied. "It would mean that I might still have a different path. One where I don't have to die in a bathroom somewhere."

Hermione nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what Draco meant with that last comment but she understood where he was coming from.

"If I'm a father...that changes everything," he said. "And I _should_ be there for him. I could be better for him."

"Look," Hermione muttered. "I may not understand what's happening with you. I can tell you don't want to enlighten me. But it sounds like you have some things you have to straighten out with yourself. It looks like it too." She stood up and approached him. He took a small step back. He didn't know what she intended to do. She slowly reached up and grasped his face, like she'd done the night she'd kissed him. Her hands were warm and soft against his skin. She could feel his jaw clenching and unclenching underneath her fingers. Hermione peered into his face, her brown eyes piercing him and he averted his eyes. He could see the inside of her forearm and the faint trace of the word _mudblood_ that had been carved into her soft skin.

"Figure it out," she said gently. Draco reached up and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, bringing her hands away from his face. He saw her eyes trail over the track marks on his arms. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow and it had gotten so bad that they no longer hid what he'd been doing to himself. She pulled one hand out of his grasp and brought them down the holes the needles had made. "This won't do," she said sadly, looking up at him again. "I know what this is."

She slowly wrapped her arms around his torso and brought him into a tight embrace that he wasn't expecting. She could hear his breathing quicken as he slowly brought his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back just as fiercly as she was squeezing him. He was so puzzled it was making him feel overwhelmed, but he didn't let go. He cleared his throat.

"I should let you go pick him up," he said breaking the contact. He pulled her hand forward and squeezed it in his own. She felt heat where their flesh had touched and when she looked down she saw a phone number etched into her palm.

"That's _my_ phone number," Draco said motioning towards the digits that were printed onto her skin. "I stopped and got a phone today before I came here. I was hoping that perhaps you would keep in touch with me."

She rubbed at the numbers that were still tingling.

"I know I'm not the typical company you keep but it would be...nice," he said. "I don't have many friends anymore." He didn't want to admit that he didn't have any friends at all. Pansy didn't really fall into that category. She nodded and closed her fingers into a fist.

"Alright then. Thanks for the chat," he said. He leaned around her and grabbed his sunglasses from the table. She watched as he slipped them over his eyes and then abruptly turned and began taking his leave.

"Malfoy!" she called. He turned his attention to her, pausing at the curb where he planned to cross the street. "Be careful," she blurted out. Whatever she was about to say had fallen short and stayed stuck in her throat. He just nodded and continued on his path.


	6. Chapter 6

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco:**

Draco arrived home late that night. He had stopped over at Jasper's flat after he'd spoken with Hermione. He'd been hurting all day. Jasper hadn't been thrilled to see him. He never was. But he weighed out Draco's fix and sent him on his way. Draco walked into the strangely quiet house and sat down in the living room, emptying the contents from his pockets onto the table. Vincent was bustling around in the kitchen. He then flopped down diagonal from Draco on the sectional couch with a bowl of cereal perched in the palm of his hand. The other hand was occupied by the remote for the television.

"Aye," Vincent said crunchily. Draco just nodded as he watched Vincent flip through the channels until he landed on some muggle show about addicts. Today Susie had agreed to be in a documentary about drugs. Moppit hopped onto the couch and plopped next to Draco, looking up at him through vibrant green eyes. He began to purr.

Draco leaned forward and brought his baggy out of his pocket. He walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water before he sat down and began to prepare his shot.

"_I love Susie," _a woman on the television said. _"But here's the thing about addicts..." _The woman dabbed at her tears. _"If you love them, that only enables them to take from you. My sister hasn't seen her children in three months. They live with my mother. We can't trust Susie in our homes anymore. She's stolen collectively two hundred dollars from me. She's not allowed to come over anymore. She's an entirely different person...This is tearing our family apart. One person might use, but we all suffer..."_

"You know...I've got a little girl," Vincent said through a mouthful of cereal. He slurped loudly from his bowl. Draco felt a pang of irritation at the noise. He brought his eyes up from what he was doing and stared at Vincent. His mouth was pressed in a tight line. Why was Vincent such a noisy eater? He even drank loud.

"Yeah?" Draco asked. Vincent nodded.

"Her mum's all fucked up too," Vincent went on. He put his empty bowl on the dirty coffee table and leaned back into the couch cushions, kicking his feet up. He folded his arms behind his head and sighed. "CPS took her away cause the baby mama couldn't get clean. No way in hell they'd give my kid to me."

"So what? She in foster care or something?" Draco asked. He used the back of his syringe to mix the nasty dark substance around. Vincent studied the process looking a little grossed out. He didn't mess with black.

"Nah she ended up with her grandmother," Vincent muttered, watching Draco tie off. "I'm not allowed to see her." Draco thought about it for a moment. It was strange that the topic had come up. The concept of having a child was so new to Draco that he wasn't sure what to do with it yet. He somehow couldn't imagine losing something he'd never had... But he found the idea unpleasant all the same. He was thankful that Hermione had her shit together. That would never happen to someone like Granger.

"You miss her?" Draco asked. Vincent was quiet for a long time.

"I haven't seen Melissa since she was three," he muttered, running his fingers through his curly hair. "I showed up at her birthday party. Wasn't invited. Her mum and I got into a rather vicious argument in the middle of the park and I got in a fight with her drug dealer boyfriend. Thought he was hard. Pulled a gun. Cops got called. I haven't seen her since then."

Draco put his syringe down for a moment. "How long ago was that?"

"She's six now," he replied. There was yelling on the television. A very strung out looking woman was ordering the camera men out of her house. Draco picked up his cell phone from the table and checked it. It was close to midnight. Nothing from Granger. He supposed he couldn't expect much from her. The idea that she might never get a hold of him nagged at him for a moment.

"I don't think I could go on that long not seeing my kid," Draco muttered placing his phone next to his spoon. He positioned his syringe at his vein. It was quick. Vincent cringed.

"Ugh mate," he muttered. "Doesn't matter how many times I see that shit. It still freaks me out." Vincent jerked his arm and shook out his hand as though he could feel what the blonde had done to himself. Draco let the rope on his arm loose and threw the syringe on the coffee table, leaning into the cushions, feeling the warmth spread up his spine. He sighed and scratched at his arm. His vision began to get blurry and he felt sweat prickle over the flesh on his lower back and chest.

"Shit," he mumbled thickly. "That was strong..."

Vincent watched Draco with mild concern at first.

"You alright mate?" he asked. Draco registered that Vincent was leaning forward slightly. He sounded like he was speaking to him from a different room.

"Yeah," Draco said. At this point it felt like he was a mile away. Floating towards the ceiling. "Just give me a second."

Draco felt his eyelids shut. He struggled to open them and saw Vincent standing over him. He thought that Vincent might be shaking him but he wasn't sure.

"Draco!" Vincent said loudly. He saw the other man lift his hand, almost in slow motion and he brought it to Draco's cheek. Draco felt the impact. It vibrated through his face and into his head as Vincent slapped him a few times.

"I had a friend named Vincent once," Draco muttered.

"That's cool mate," Vincent said, glancing around. "Pansy!" he yelled. He saw the man's eyes dart to the stairs and then he brought his attention back to Draco.

"He's dead now," Draco said. He laughed a little and then everything went black.

**2 Days Later:**

Draco opened his eyes. He could see the ceiling fan spinning lazily through the air. He slowly propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. Everything was the same. It was always the same. He sat up and quickly realized he felt like shit. All of his drug paraphernalia was still on the table where he'd left it. He wasn't wearing a shirt. There was a round bruise on his chest, right above his heart, with a small swollen hole in the middle. He supposed it was probably because he'd overdosed. Narcan.

He wondered how long he'd been out and picked up his phone, which was dead. He got shakily to his feet and walked towards the stairs feeling dizzy. He climbed them at a snail's pace and turned towards the bedroom he shared with Pansy. He opened the door and walked inside, passing by the bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pansy sit up quickly, pulling a blanket around her chest. He paused to squint at her as his eyes adjusted, taking in her messy hair. He blinked to clear the fuzzy black spots that were forming in the corners of his vision. He thought he might pass out.

"Draco!" she said. Her voice was hushed. It was then that someone stirred next to her and Draco realized that Pansy wasn't alone. He looked over and saw the mop of Vincent's hair poking out from the top of the blankets. Draco just stared at Vincent for a moment and then returned his attention to Pansy who had started babbling some nonsense he couldn't understand. He thought he understood what might've happened but didn't really care. At least not at that moment. He continued the longest journey he'd ever known to the bathroom and shut the door behind him with a quiet click. He stood for a moment and saw his reflection in the mirror. He looked like death. Or something that should be dead. He sort of wished he was dead. He took a few steps forward before he fell to his knees in front of the toilet, where he proceeded to vomit. It wasn't long before he was dry heaving. He didn't have anything to throw up to begin with.

He hugged the toilet, his arms shaking violently. He could feel goosebumps raise all over his body as the profuse sweating began. He heard the door open behind him and Pansy came into the bathroom, wrapped in a thin, soft pink silk robe. Her nipples were visible through the fabric. She knelt down next to him and took a towel from the sink. She began to dab at his face and the back of his neck.

Draco let her tend to him. She offered him a glass of water, which he took and sipped from, feeling his stomach cramp painfully as the cool liquid entered it. He pushed the glass away, as the nausea returned.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Downstairs," Draco muttered gritting his teeth. "My shit's downstairs."

He couldn't read the look on her face. She stared at him for a moment. He took in the dark circles under her blue eyes, and her smudged eyeliner. The blemishes that sprinkled her chin. She then set her jaw, stood, and shuffled out of the bathroom. He let out a deep breath and lowered himself to the floor, bringing his knees up as his whole body shook.

Pansy returned after what seemed like an eternity. She set his kit on the floor and sat down next to him.

"Can you do it for me?" he asked. Pansy let out a frustrated breath and set to work. She knew how to do it. She'd done it for him before. He knew that didn't mean she liked to.

After a while he sat up and propped himself against the wall. She sat down on the toilet in front of him and just watched him for a while.

"You were out nearly 48 hours," she mumbled after a moment. "Vincent gave you the shot."

"I would thank him," Draco said weakly. "But it would appear you've already done it for me."

Pansy's eyes narrowed as she glared at him. She opened her mouth to retort but Draco shook his head, which effectively cut her off.

"I don't care Pansy," he went on. "I just want to go back to sleep."

"I thought you were going to die," Pansy said quietly.

"You move on quickly," Draco hissed as he struggled to stand up. She let out an exasperated sigh and helped him to his feet. He shook her off and headed towards the door.

"You need help," she said. There was something in her tone that sounded almost like she was pleading with him to see something he couldn't.

"That's funny coming from you," Draco said as he came into the room and sat down on the couch across from her bed.

"Seriously, Draco. You were purple," she muttered, sitting back down on her mattress.

"So what should I do? Skip off to some muggle rehab?" he snapped. "Are you going to come with me? We could be like those couples who go to treatment together. I'll come visit you at your halfway house."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I don't have a problem like you do," she snapped at him.

"If you don't have a problem, then I don't either. Are we done?" Draco asked. She stared indignantly at him for a moment and shook her head.

"Whatever Draco," she spat, throwing herself down onto her pillows. She pulled the blankets over her small form and put her back to him. Draco felt his temper rising. Pansy had always known how to press his buttons. And then she would bow out of the argument just as she'd done now. He stared at her back, his teeth clenched together so hard he could feel the strain in his ears. He picked up one of her couch cushions, stood up, and hurled it at her as hard as he could. She darted into a sitting position.

"Sod off!" she screeched at him, throwing the pillow back. He caught it and flung it behind him. He heard it hit the blinds, as Moppit darted out from the window and ran from the room. Pansy went to stand up and Draco shoved her firmly back onto her mattress. She fell on top of Vincent who sat up.

"Hey!" he said, suddenly wide awake. He quickly switched on the lamp next to him and turned just as Pansy lunged at Draco. "What the hell's going on?!"

Draco caught her hand right before it made contact with his face. He shoved her again and raised his hand as though he were going to strike her. Vincent darted across the mattress and got between the two.

"You going to hit me you twat?!" she screamed. "Go ahead! See what happens!"

The magical energy was so high in the room, Draco could feel it tingling around him. Vincent had no clue that both he and Pansy were about to start hurting each other in a way that he could never understand, and would likely have to be obliviated after it happened. Draco wasn't sure if he remembered how to do it properly.

"Hey! Draco! Calm down!" Vincent yelled. He put his hands on Draco's shoulders, which Draco pushed off of him roughly, his breath coming in hard gasps. His heart was beating so hard it was painful. The spots were returning. Vincent was still holding out his arm, the other wrapped around Pansy who had stopped her advance. She sat down on the bed and put her face into her hands, quiet sobs shaking her shoulders. Draco looked at her for a long time feeling a mixture of emotions he wasn't willing to. They rushed over him all the same.

He ran a quivering hand over his hair and walked around Vincent, entering the closet. Vincent remained standing, watching him as he grabbed some clothes from the hangers and drawers. He pulled a black muscle shirt over his head and dropped the jeans he'd been wearing. Draco kicked them towards Vincent.

"Thanks for letting me borrow those," he said shortly, as he pulled a baggy pair of sweat pants up his hips. Vincent didn't say anything. He shook his head and sat down at the foot of the bed. He was wearing a pair of boxers and that was all.

Draco pulled on a brown hoodie and stepped back into the shoes he'd just removed. He began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Pansy sniffed. She slowly started to stand.

"Let 'im go," Vincent warned. Draco paused next to the door and frowned at Pansy. He didn't know where he was going to go but he couldn't stay there with them. He was still too heated.

"I have to cool down," Draco muttered numbly. He felt like everything was closing in around him. Pansy's face was blotchy, her features seemed to droop.

"You got a smoke?" he asked Vincent. Vincent pushed around the blankets on the bed until he found a smooshed carton of cigarettes which he tossed at Draco. Draco took a couple from the pack, letting one dangle from his top lip, as he placed the other behind his ear.

"You should get some sleep Pansy," Draco murmured awkwardly. "You look tired. Thanks," he added handing the carton back to the shaggy haired man he'd just found in Pansy's bed. Vincent pulled out a cigarette for himself and lit it in silence. Draco exited the room and made his way downstairs. He sat back down on the couch he'd been comatose on for the past several hours and stared at the television. He snapped his fingers and the tip of his cigarette lit. He noticed that Pansy had put his phone on the charger. He picked it up and flipped it open before he checked for messages. He was surprised to find an open one already in his inbox. He glanced up the stairs feeling slightly irritated. He'd had the phone all of two days and Pansy had already gone through it. He opened the message from the unlisted number. It contained two words.

"It's me."

That was all it said. It showed that the message had come in at 10:30 in the evening but Draco had no way of knowing if that was accurate. That could've been the time that Pansy had turned it on. He stared at the words for a long time wondering if he should respond. It was midnight. He figured that Granger had probably been in bed for a while and didn't think it right to disturb her. There was a part of him that wondered if maybe someone had already gotten the wrong number and texted him by mistake.

He heard somebody come down the stairs, the footsteps light, which meant it could only be Pansy. She stopped on the last step and watched him cautiously before she entered the living room and sat down next to him. She drew her knees up to her chest and peered sadly at him in the dim lighting of the living room. The dining room light was on in the back and it cast shadows against them as they sat in silence.

"I didn't think you'd still be here," she muttered. "Didn't mean to disturb you."

"It's your house, Pansy. You can go where you want," Draco mumbled. He blew out some smoke.

"I'm sorry," she said the words so quietly he barely heard them. He turned his eyes abruptly on her, the shock apparent on his face.

"You shouldn't be," Draco said. "Gods. Do you even know why you're apologizing?"

She stared down at her feet, her toes curling into the cushion beneath her. She sniffled, and he could see her tears rolling down her face, landing on her pajama bottoms she'd changed into. Draco felt horrible. He couldn't say he'd ever been in a serious relationship before. He didn't really think he could consider his current situation with Pansy serious either... So he'd never been in a position to know what kind of man he was in them... When it came down to it he came to the conclusion that he probably wasn't a very good one. He'd never thought that he would raise his hand to a woman. His mother had drilled it into him that it wasn't acceptable behavior, even as she nursed her own bruises. He'd hated his father for how he'd treated his mother. He'd even vowed that he'd never be the same. That meant nothing now.

"I'm not good for you," Draco drawled as he ashed his cigarette onto his clean sweat pants. He brushed the ashes away jerkily, irritated that he'd done it to begin with.

"This is my fault," Pansy pressed. "I'm the reason you're this messed up."

"I was fucked up before I got out of Azkaban," Draco said bluntly. "I've been using since my third month in that place. I did this to myself."

Pansy wiped at her eyes, smearing black up the bridge of her nose. Draco held out his hand and a box of tissues came flying through the air. He pulled a couple out and handed them to her. She dabbed at her tear streaked face.

"I don't want you to leave," Pansy sniffed. She crumpled the tissues in her hand and wrapped her arms back around her knees.

"At this point I don't think I should stay anymore," he muttered. "You've been trying to throw me out since I got here. And _I_ don't even know why I'm still here."

"Why'd you get a phone?" she asked abruptly. Draco looked down at his hand, where the cell rested and shrugged.

"Didn't want to keep stealing yours," he lied. It wasn't a complete lie. He really didn't like taking her phone when he left because she called him incessantly, insisting he bring it back to her. He figured it wasn't so much because she wanted her phone back, as much as it was because she wanted _him_ to come back. Either way it was irritating. Of course the whole reason behind getting the phone was on the off chance that Granger didn't laugh him off the sidewalk when he asked her to keep in touch with him. Which she hadn't done after all.

"Who's the text from?" Pansy asked. Draco shrugged. He didn't know what to tell her. He definitely wasn't ready to share the fact that he probably had a child... With Hermione Granger. She still hadn't admitted it but she'd stopped denying it as well. At least he felt she did.

"Is it from a girl?" she asked.

"I didn't cheat on you if that's what you're asking," Draco muttered, putting the phone in his pocket.

"It's not a number I have," she pressed.

"You're pretty thorough," he replied. "Figure all that out while I was upstairs wretching?"

"I just know," she replied. Draco didn't know she'd already saved the number in her phone. She didn't know if she was planning to write the person and find out for herself. It depended on what he said next.

"I think perhaps I should go stay with my mother if she'll let me," Draco drawled, changing the subject. That was the wrong thing to say.

"It is a girl," Pansy said sadly, letting out a deep breath.

"What does it matter?" Draco snapped. "Weren't you just upstairs with Vincent?"

"It's not what you think-" she began lamely.

"Did you shag him?" Draco asked. "I know you two have gone at it before. What's one more time?"

The silence that followed was palpable in the room. Pansy kept her knees pressed together tightly, as though she were trying to stop her legs from shaking.

"I'll get up in the morning and pack my things," Draco decided aloud. "Tomorrow I'll go talk to my mother and see if it'll be possible. If not... Maybe I can find my own place. I've got enough money to do it. Muggle living is cheaper anyway." As he thought about it, that was probably a better option for him. He didn't know if he could stay clean and wasn't quite ready to try. He knew that would be a condition of his mother's if he showed up over there. Perhaps he would go hunting for a new place instead. He could be out of Pansy's hair in a week or so. And perhaps if he had his own place, Granger and his son could come visit him once he'd settled in. Those thoughts were slightly unrealistic and he knew that... But it was a nice thought all the same.

"You don't have to do that Draco," Pansy said, her voice quivering. He could see more tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. He pushed down his irritation.

"You don't have to cry," he said, staring at his hands in his lap. "It's not as though you thought this would be permanent. You shouldn't want it to be either."

"I love you," she said simply. Draco wanted to laugh but he bit the inside of his cheek instead, until the feeling passed and settled in his stomach. It was heavy and guilt ridden.

"I don't think I even know what love is," Draco said simply. The words seemed to sting her. Had she actually expected him to be able to say it back?

"Well I do. And I know I do," her voice came out low, like he'd punched her in the stomach. He was suddenly very happy he hadn't actually done that. Or struck her in any other way.

"Pansy... Whatever this is. We can't do it. I didn't show up here trying to get myself into a relationship-" he knew the words would hurt her but he couldn't take them back. It was the truth and he needed to stop lying to himself. The situation he'd landed himself in was purely out of convenience and it wasn't fair to her. "It was just convenient that you knew the kind of people I needed to find. And before I knew it, two weeks had passed. Then a month. All of which is a blur to me. We can't work. Not like this."

He didn't mention the fact that they had never worked to begin with. They'd always been on and off. Not to mention Draco had been expected to enter into an arranged marriage with someone he was pretty sure wasn't her. They would've never ended up together in any life he'd lived thus far.

"You don't feel anything for me at all?" she asked. She looked wounded and then the tears finally did fall, one after the other.

"We're not good for each other," he said firmly. "You have to know that. Is this the kind of life you want?" he motioned around himself. "With me overdosing on your couch? Random people stay here all the time. I'm pretty sure you've never met any of them before they saunter through your door acting like they're lifelong friends."

"I don't know what I want," Pansy said quietly.

"So how do you know you even love me?" Draco threw the words at her. "Do you even know what you're going to do tomorrow?"

His mind felt clearer than it had in a long time. He knew he spoke the truth. He also knew that saying the truth and then acting on it were two entirely different things.

"You know what I'm going to do tomorrow," she said. She blew her nose.

"Waiting for Vincent to get you some more coke is not what I mean," he growled. "Do you ever think about what you want the rest of your life to be like? Can you even see that far ahead? Do you care?"

"Do _you_?" she asked. Her tone turned defensive. The truth was, neither of them could see any kind of a future past the drugs and didn't try. As far as Draco was concerned, this is just what he was doing _right_ _now_. That's how it had started.

_Hey you want to try some of this Malfoy? It'll take the edge off. _

Why not? He hadn't had anywhere else to be. For all he knew he could've been spending the next forty years of his life in Azkaban. Sure! Why should he care? He would just do it when he felt bad. It would make the time go by. And then when he 'felt bad' turned into all the time. Before he knew it nearly five years had passed and he was being granted his freedom. It was something he'd truly believed was out of his grasp. But it had happened and by that point he was already fucked, seeing as he now needed the shit to function. But sure. The plan was only for _right_ _now_. And then he got out and met up with Pansy again. What was so bad about that? She was there when he needed a quick shag and he didn't _want_ to go anywhere else. She had everything he needed. So her house would work for _right_ _now_. Sure she annoyed the hell out of him most of the time with her constant nagging but he could tolerate it as long as he was high. There he was two months later and he was on the verge of beating her. He was starting to realize that _right_ _now_ meant forever. He couldn't let it be forever... But he was torn between what was easy and what was...well..._not_.

He snapped out of his mental rampage and looked over at her.

"I don't care about any of this nearly as much as I should," Draco said, motioning between them. "You already know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow," he went on, getting to his feet. She looked up at him, through puffy, red, tired eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"Take a guess..."

"Really Draco?" she raised her eyebrows. "I'm tired. Can you get to the point?"

"I'm going to go on a mission to get my fix. And then I'm probably going to make a half ass attempt at finding an apartment and then nod out on your couch," he snapped. He left out the part about getting a hold of Granger. "It's always the same."

"Then can we go to bed and talk about this tomorrow?" she asked. She stood up and began walking towards the stairs. "Like really talk about it before you make any decisions?"

Draco felt like screaming. Since when had _talking _gotten them anywhere? She held out her hand to him.

He glanced at the door and found that he wasn't feeling too motivated to go walking down the street at this hour. Nothing good waited for him out there, at least not in his current state. At least he knew what waited for him tomorrow if he stayed.

"_You're doing it again..." _His thoughts hissed loudly at him. _"Go ahead and waste that moment of clarity, Malfoy. Woooorthless... " _

He couldn't understand for the life of him how she could still want him there after everything that had just happened. He may not have been able to remember the last two months of his life very clearly but he knew they had to of been shit for her. He wasn't a nice person. Never had been. The heroin managed to take what little decency he'd had going for him.

_"She's just as damaged as you are...Can't take advantage if she wants you."_

Draco shook his head to clear the nagging whispers that were overlapping inside of his mind. He found them rather disconcerting as they quickened and threatened to bust his skull wide open. He was slightly alarmed as they kept going until he became aware of the dull ache in his chest as his heart rapidly beat against his rib cage. The fact that he probably could've died a couple days ago occurred to him vaguely as an afterthought.

"Alright," he muttered finally. The sound of his own voice calmed him down a bit. It was real. It was solid. Everything was silent again. She nodded and took his hand in hers as she led him up the stairs. He felt helpless as he followed her. He was almost tempted to just book down the stairs and sprint into the night screaming, but realized he wanted familiar. She was familiar.

She drifted off as soon as her head hit her pillow. Draco watched her chest rise and fall as she slept, the tears dried in white streaks down her face. He brought his hand over his mouth, his brows creasing. That was the first night Draco cried.

**A/N: So this chapter is kind of a celebration to my first review! Thank you to Carneu for the positive reinforcement. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I had read an entry about Draco Malfoy's character that J.K. Rowling had written. She went into depth about his character and his flaws. And you're right. Draco wasn't a very brave character in the book and wasn't actually a nice person either. This story is inspired by a lot of things... But I did base it roughly off of who he actually is in the books. Hopefully we can see him develop some strength. Thank you for taking the time to read it! I do try to make it as realistic and accurate as possible. Although I may slip up from time to time. **

**And also thank you to those who are following this story as well. Feedback is always welcome. I haven't decided what's going to happen in the next chapter yet but I want to move it along. So hopefully it comes out nicely. Suggestions are also welcome. Thanks! :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**What Lies Beneath**

**Hermione:**

The weekend had come. It had been a few days since she'd texted Malfoy. She still couldn't wrap her head around why she'd done it but she had...and he still hadn't replied. It was a bit unnerving to her and made her feel foolish for doing it to begin with. She sighed and placed Xavier's toothbrush in his back pack before glancing at the dragon clock on his wall. It was purple and green, with a silly looking face that had a red tongue lulling out of its mouth. It grasped the clock to its belly with sharp looking claws. It was noon. Ginny and Harry would be there anytime to pick up her son. He was going to have a sleepover at their house, which would turn out being convenient for more reasons than one.

"Do you have your shoes and jacket on?" Hermione called from his room, as she switched off his light and hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "They'll be here any moment, love!"

"Yes mummy," he said. She came into the living room where her son was drawing in his coloring book. It had been a gift from Molly when she realized that Xavier showed quite a bit of talent in the art of doodling. It was nicer than a boy his age would probably appreciate, with leather bound covers and magical endless blank pages, but Hermione figured if he did keep up with it, it would be interesting to see the progress he'd made over the years. The book also had a spell cast on it, that it would always find its way back to him if he ever misplaced it. The gift was special, actually. She sat on the wood floor next to him and peeped over his shoulder.

"What you drawing?" she asked as her eyes met his work. There was a man in the picture. Not just any man though. If Hermione wasn't mistaken, the figure looked a hell of a lot like Draco Malfoy. In a top hat. She swallowed the lump in her throat, wondering how the hell a four year old could be so accurate. Cartoon Malfoy wasn't quite a stick figure either. He wore robes.

"Mummy..." Xavier began, as though he were unsure how to proceed, as he added a wand to cartoon Malfoy's hand with little lines shooting out of the end. He placed his crayon on the floor next to him and brought himself up into a sitting position, his knees folded underneath him.

"Hmmm?" she asked. She tore her eyes away from the drawing and instead, met bright gray eyes that were studying her.

"Why don't I have a daddy like all the other kids?" he asked. She felt a small prickle in her chest at the question. She knew it would come eventually... Just maybe not quite so soon. She wondered if Malfoy popping up on them in the bookshop had anything to do with it.

_"Is he...mine?"_ Malfoy's voice echoed in her head.

"You do..." Hermione started slowly...Carefully as though she didn't want to hurt her son or get him excited. She may have been considered the brightest witch of her age but there wasn't exactly a book written on this type of thing. If there was she didn't know where to find it. She didn't know if she could consider herself very bright at all... She'd made some very poor decisions in her life. Xavier waited for her to continue. When it seemed she wouldn't he pressed on.

"Where is he then?" he asked simply. She watched as her son glanced towards the fireplace as though Malfoy were going to magically pop out of it at his request. She was hoping Ginny and Harry would pop out of it instead. Sooner rather than later. Like now.

"That's rather complicated, love," she said dully. Xavier considered her words.

"What's he like?" he asked. Her heart was beating very hard against her ribs. She wanted to end the conversation. She found that anger was rising from the pit of her stomach. It had nothing to do with Xavier or his questions. She found it was directed at herself, like so many times before that she berrated herself for being so daft and careless. Impulsive. The list went on and on. Things she would have never used to define herself before that night that she'd found herself underneath her enemy.

"He's..." she began, finding the words sticking to the inside of her mouth like taffy, but tasting far from sweet. She searched her mind for a way to describe Malfoy in a way that wouldn't be negative or dishonest. She made it a point not to lie to her son. The truth was... Malfoy had always been kind of a monster in her fairytale book. Always lurking in the shadows waiting for the opportune moment to strike out and bite her ankles. Until the end, when she'd realized he was a misguided boy trying to live up to a shadow that was much too large for him. The shoes of his father were impossible to fill. Perhaps that was due to the fact that Malfoy wasn't like his father. Something Hermione had begun to realize towards the end. So was he truly a monster then? Her thoughts wandered to the last time she'd seen him. Maybe the right question to ask was, was he redeemable? If her suspicions were correct, Malfoy's potential addiction, which she was quite sure it _was_ an addiction considering the state of him, meant that yes, he still had great potential to continue being the monster.

"Hello!" came Ginny's voice as she and Harry landed on their feet in her living room. James was nestled safely between the two, beaming at Xavier.

"We'll talk about it later," Xavier said in a tone that made him sound much older and wiser than his four years on the earth. Hermione always found herself blown away by her son. He was an enigma just like his father. She nodded dumbly at the small brown headed boy and stood to greet the Potters.

"How are things, Mione?" Harry asked, looking around at her tidy flat. She smiled and pulled her two best friends into a group hug that also squished the two small boys between them. The kettle in the kitchen began to scream on the stovetop. Hermione waved her hand towards the kitchen to silence it. Her skill at wandless magic had blossomed to the point that she didn't use her wand very often anymore, although she always carried it with her. Even with her power as strong as it was, wandless magic had its limits.

"They're decent," Hermione's smile was strained, which caused Ginny and Harry to exchange a glance. She hated it when they did that. "Would you two like some tea?" she asked.

"Sure love," Ginny said smiling kindly. "I think we could stay for a few minutes right Harry?" she asked. "Ronald and the brooms can wait."

"Brooms?" Hermione asked, her tone becoming immediately concerned. She looked at Harry sternly and he looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"Yeah, er... Ron thought it was-" Ginny elbowed her husband in the ribs. "Ron and I that is-" he began again glaring at his wife, "-thought it might be nice if the boys learned a little about flying today. If it's alright with you of course." His words were drowned out at the end of his sentence by a tiny uproar of excited cries from the two small boys.

"Oh pleeease mummy can I?" Xavier said, tugging at his mother's hand excitedly. Hermione's mouth pressed into a tense line as she stared at her best friend. How could she say no now? Xavier rarely got to do many things that were considered non-muggle. It would be a good dose of his culture he needed to learn. And part of wizarding culture had most young boys on a broom as soon as they could walk. Hermione felt her mouth twitch as a smile threatened to creep onto her lips. Harry saw it and began to grin knowingly himself.

"C'mon Mione. You know we won't let anything happen to him," he said, knowing Xavier's excitement had won over Hermione's concerns. "It's something all boys should do." Harry winked at the two boys who were beaming at him. His eyes came to rest on Xavier who was still smiling, ear to ear and he couldn't help but picture a younger Draco Malfoy. It's something Malfoy would want to teach his son as well, so somebody should do it, he thought briefly. It might've been an unspoken agreement that Harry and Ron had, but they both knew when Xavier was born that they would be stepping in to help raise the boy right, since it was clear his father wouldn't be in the picture. At the time, the father had been a mystery to them... Even now, Harry found that he still felt that way. Xavier may not have his father, but he wouldn't go through life without the love of one. Not like Harry had. He wasn't sure if Hermione would even settle down with a man that would be there for both her and her son. So until that day came, Harry and Ron would be there. They would be there even after that as well, Malfoy's son or not. And he most definitely _was_ Malfoy's son. Harry felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. It was so..._obvious_.

"Alright..." Hermione let out a deep breath. "But please... _please_ Harry, be careful with him," she warned. "Or so help me, I'll come down there and you and Ronald will be-"

"Unable to charm ourselves together again," Harry finished for her, pulling his friend into a tight hug. "I know Mione. Now how about that tea?"

Hermione busied herself setting her small kitchen table for tea as the boys ran to Xavier's room to play, chatting excitedly about the adventure ahead. She was grateful that Ginny and Harry had become parents almost as quickly as she had. Xavier was only a few months older than James. Ginny and Harry hadn't even been married yet. Everybody knew it wouldn't have made a difference whether Ginny was with child or not. Harry was going to marry her either way. Of course when the news broke about the pregnancy, the papers had had a field day, saying the youngest Weasley had trapped Harry. It hadn't mattered to either of them, because anybody who knew them also knew how much they loved each other. Of course those rumors had been spread by none other than Rita Skeeter, so if a witch or wizard was smart, they didn't put much weight into the articles.

Hermione poured three glasses of ginger tea when her phone buzzed on the counter. She nearly dropped the kettle when she saw the number that popped up. She quickly turned and set the kettle down on the table between Ginny and Harry, before grabbing her phone and shoving it in her back pocket. She then levitated the three glasses, two coming to rest in front of her guests, and the other in front of her as she took her seat. The phone buzzed again loudly against the hard wood of the chair. Hermione pointedly ignored it as she dropped three sugar cubes into her glass and began to swirl the hot tea around with her spoon. Ginny was nibbling on a butter cookie, examining Hermione, her blue eyes narrowed mischieviously. She chose not to comment, knowing it was none of her business who Hermione talked to on her muggle device... She also noticed how tense her friend was however, which was rather curious in her opinion.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione said at last, breaking the silence. Harry looked surprised.

"For what?" he asked. He sipped from his glass, made a face and reached into the sugar bowl, where he grabbed a cube, broke it in half and added it to his tea.

"I didn't know if our discussion about Malfoy would change the way you felt about Xavier," she began awkwardly. "I know it's foolish of me. I'm just happy is all. So thank you."

"We love Xavier, Mione," Ginny said. "Really love him. Nothing could change that." Harry nodded his agreement.

"So how have things been on that?" Harry asked. "No word at all?"

Hermione felt her face get warm.

"No." Her response was abrupt and choppy. She recovered quickly. "Have you heard anything about it? Or rather _him_..."

The phone buzzed a third time. Merlin Malfoy, give it a rest. She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Somebody is blowing up that phone of yours," Ginny said lightly, taking another bite of her cookie. Hermione finally pulled the small phone from her pocket and checked the screen. There were three new messages in her inbox. She quickly clicked the button on the side until the phone said it was now on silent and she threw it into the living room, hearing it land lightly on the couch. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and cleared his throat. Ginny sipped from her tea, looking a little more than amused.

"Yeah," Hermione said hastily avoiding her friend's blue eyes spearing her. "So...have you?" She was hoping Harry could tell her about Malfoy's situation. Maybe fill her in on some information she wanted to know, although she wasn't sure what it was she wanted to hear.

"Actually," Harry began. "Yeah. I have heard a few things here and there. After I told Myers about the situation he filled me in on Malfoy's terms of release and things like that. He isn't on any kind of probation in the sense that he has to report to Myers, although his magic has been limited slightly by the ministry. It will be like that for a couple years, until he's gone a certain period of time without any kind of incidents. He can only apparate inside the limits of the United Kingdom. They told me he's taken up residence in a muggle neighborhood...That was all they were allowed to tell me. I guess they can't give me any information that could possibly put him in danger. The wizard laws still protect him in that way."

"If his magic is limited, how will he protect himself if he runs into any of his enemies?" Hermione asked.

"It's not limited like that. Although they are monitoring his use of magic. If he casts any unforgivables he will be taken back into custody. They have a tracking spell on him, so he won't get far if he does break any of his terms. If he practices any dark magic, the outcome will likely be the same, although there will be an investigation while he's in custody. In which case he could sill be released again depending on what the Aurors find."

Hermione nodded slowly. Her suspicions had been correct. Malfoy had moved into the muggle world just like she had. That was probably smart. His conditions of release could've been a lot less manageable in her opinion. Malfoy had gotten lucky.

"He can also contact Myers immediatley if he finds himself in any danger of the Death Eater variety," Harry went on. "That is, if he gets the chance to."

Hermione knew what her best friend was implying and felt a shiver go down her back. If he lived long enough to.

"Well... for the sake of the new world, let's hope that doesn't happen," Hermione muttered. Ginny nodded in agreement.

"You'll let us know if he shows up won't you?" Ginny asked a bit too casually.

"I don't know why he would," Hermione began her voice comeing out higher than she intended. Ginny merely nodded and poured herself a bit more tea.

"Well you were probably one of the only nice people he knew at the end. You _were_ trying to help him," she added, glancing at Hermione out of the corner of her eye. She was watching for a reaction. Ginny was so intuitive it was almost otherwordly. Like she was a bit psychic. Hermione often wondered if that wasn't the case. Ginny got _feelings_ about things and often knew when something was about to happen before it did. Hermione wondered if she was getting one of those feelings now or if she was just sifting through Hermione's tension trying to get to the source. Hermione tried to slow her heartbeat. She knew Ginny would never invade her privacy by pushing into her mind without permission, but there were some things nobody could hide from her, that Ginny couldn't help picking up on. It was something she'd been trying to get control of over the years, but hadn't been able to master.

"I was trying to help all of us," Hermione said simply. "If Malfoy got saved in the mix I'd say that's just something you have to take with the good."

"You're right," Ginny replied, her voice smooth. Hermione knew Ginny was getting pelted with her feelings as she was unable to control them herself. "We all earned a clean start."

Harry glanced between the two women knowing there was more being exchanged than what was being said but chose to shrug it off. Ginny would fill him in later if he wanted her to.

Suddenly Harry's wand vibrated. He pulled it from the inside of his jacket and waved the tip in a small circle that glowed green and Ron's voice emerged into the room.

"Aye, where are you guys?" he blurted loudly into the kitchen.

"We decided to have some tea with Hermione," Harry said.

"Hey Mione," Ron said.

"Hi Ron," she called, grateful for the distraction. Ginny's focus had shifted. Hermione began to clear the table, knowing their visit was about to come to an end. Part of her didn't want it to, because she knew once they left she wouldn't be able to stop herself from pouncing on her phone. And she wasn't sure she wanted to read what she'd find there.

"So I trust Harry already told you what we were planning for the boys today?" Ron asked.

"Yes he did," Hermione replied as she set the dirty mugs in the sink. She cast a spell and they began washing themselve. "I've decided that'll be alright," she went on.

"That's great," Ron said happily. "Every boy should know how to ride a broom. It's in their blood."

Hermione stayed silent for a moment. She knew that Ron wasn't referring to the fact that Malfoy was also quite talented on a broom. However, the remark got her thinking all the same. It was in Xavier's blood.

"If they're anything like their father's, they'll be playing quidditch in no time," Ginny drawled. Harry nodded.

"Let's hope so," Ron said, not missing a beat. Hermione let out a breath. "I don't care who wins the house cup. As long as it's one of our boys."

"You've got big dreams for them," Hermione teased.

"Hell yeah I do," Ron replied. "You can't tell me you haven't thought of it Hermione. Your son going to Hogwarts and getting on the team."

Hermione cared little for quidditch but knew how important it was to the males in the wizarding world. They all wanted their son to make the quidditch team. It was just like muggles wanting their kids on the school sportsteams. It was a measure of a man's masculinity.

"I just want Xavier to be happy," Hermione said simply. "If playing quidditch makes him happy, so be it."

"That's the spirit," Ron said approvingly. "So what time will you lot be over here then?" he asked.

"Soon," Harry replied. "Let us just scoop up the boys. Give us about ten minutes."

"Sounds quite alright to me. See you soon," Ron replied. There was a small pop as the connection broke off. Harry returned his wand to the inside of his jacket.

"You want to come along Hermione?" he asked. Ginny had wandered down the hall to fetch the boys.

"No," Hermione said. "I have a couple of things I want to do today. It will be nice to have some quiet time."

"I figured you might say that," Harry replied. "But if you change your mind you know where we'll be. If not, well you can always come by the house later too."

"I appreciate it," Hermione said. She was honestly looking forward to her small break. She didn't know what she was going to do with the time alotted to her but she was looking forward to not having her son attached to her hip for a day. She felt a brief pang of guilt at the thought but quickly recovered. Xavier was with her all the time when she wasn't at work. It wasn't wrong for her to want a day to herself. It wasn't as if she got them often.

A few minutes later she was saying her goodbyes. She hugged Xavier fiercly before she watched him get whisped away with Harry and Ginny, all four of them looking cramped in the small space of the fireplace. She then sighed and sat down on her couch, giving her phone a sideways glance. She picked it up and pressed the small button on the side seeing that there were still only three messages in her inbox. She flipped the phone open and opened the first one.

"Hey..It's me. Draco." 12:15

"I'm hoping this is Granger." 12:31

"Hermione. Sorry. Just returning your message." 12:40

Hermione felt the anxiety gnawing at her stomach. She could've easily mistaken it for butterflies if the circumstances had been different. She was pretty sure feeling excited to hear from Malfoy was completely insane and not acceptable.

"Glad to see you're alive," she typed in the words and thought about it for a moment. Was that appropriate? She didn't know but she sent it anyway. It was roughly two minutes before he replied.

"May I give you a call?" he asked. Her hands began to quiver a bit. She put the phone down next to her and wiped her palms on her pants before reclaiming her cell and flipping it open.

"Sure," she wrote. She waited for a few minutes until the number popped up on the screen. Incoming call. She took a deep breath and answered it.

"Hello?" she asked. She felt a little shaky but waited.

"Hi," he said. It was quiet for a moment. "How are you?"

She took a moment to really take in his voice. She never in million years thought she'd be having a phone call with Draco Malfoy. Who was also the father of her child. If someone had sat her down and let her in on her future six years ago she would've laughed at them.

"I'm doing well thanks," she replied nervously. She stood and began to pace her living room.

"So...sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I was going through a few things," he muttered. His voice was smooth. She wasn't accustomed to hearing him speak in an almost friendly tone. They'd been on opposite sides of the spectrum for so long that they'd never quite gotten on friendly terms. Although she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit at one point she thought they might be on the way to that. Before he'd gotten arrested.

"Did you get it cleared up?" she asked. He was quiet for a moment.

"Not really," he said honestly.

"Should I ask?" she wasn't sure if it was okay to offer her ear. It was like trying to pull a friendship out of thin air and there was a little too much between them at the moment to do that. A little too much...she thought for a moment. How could there be anything between them?

"Well," he drawled slowly. "I think some of that would be better to discuss in person. If you wouldn't mind meeting with me...I'm not exactly by myself at the moment."

Hermione didn't know how to respond. She couldn't see it but Draco glanced over his shoulder into his bedroom. Pansy had just gotten out of the shower. She was using her wand to dry her hair in front of her mirror. He lit a cigarette.

"I was actually calling to see if you'd be free sometime soon. I did overhear your boss say something about a vacation?" he asked.

Hermione thought for a moment, considering her options before she spoke. She hadn't planned to give her day of freedom to Malfoy but she found she hadn't exactly made any other plans for herself either. It still sounded slightly better than sitting at home by herself until Xavier returned the next day. But only just. She chewed on her lip.

"Are you there?" Draco asked. She bit down on her lip hard, realizing she'd been quiet for longer than was acceptable when you were on the phone with somebody.

"I'm, er...free today actually," she said. It felt like her heart was beating into her throat. She shook out her free hand and began making her way towards her bathroom.

"Really?" his voice perked up audibly. "I mean that would work out...because I'm free as well." Draco usually didn't let any sort of excitement or emotions shine through but the idea that Hermione was willing to meet with him made it hard for him not to cheer up a bit. It was better than sitting at home while Pansy moped about, still upset that he was trying to find a new place to reside.

"Well... I mean. I don't want you to get the wrong idea. We do have things to discuss-"

"Of course," he replied, although the pep in his voice faltered. "I figured as much. Still...I thought perhaps I could take you to get a bite to eat. I've been...sick...for a few days and haven't been able to keep much down. I'm starving. You could pick the place if you want...Unless you would rather just grab a coffee...again." _Only this time it wouldn't be like I'm stalking you_. He didn't finish that thought. He was feeling immensely awkward and she could hear it in his tone. Malfoy kicked himself when what she'd actually said sunk in. _Things to discuss_, and here he was babbling on. "Wait...things to discuss. You mean... About the other day right? About-"

"Like you said," Hermione muttered. "It would be better if we talked in person."

She found that the current situation had been gnawing at her slowly. Xavier asking her about Malfoy had hit a soft spot and she felt that she at least owed it to her son to see if Malfoy would be worth considering. Or if it would be better to just keep him cut out. If she was going to make sure, she would have to see Draco eventually. She had a feeling that she was going to come away from the interaction with a new resolve for the situation. Maybe she wanted to do this just to take Malfoy off the table as an option. She somehow didn't think that he could make things easier on her. Especially not if he was doing what she thought he was.

"The fact that you're even willing to talk about any of this with me is more than I could ask for," Malfoy said slowly. He didn't want to tell her that there were ways to confirm that Xavier was his son and if he wanted to take it that far he could fight her for rights to him. Even with his past descrepencies only months behind him. He knew that the outcome wouldn't be what either of them wanted it to be if he took the matters to the courts and he wanted to avoid that. He knew there wouldn't be a chance in hell that they'd grant him much more than supervised visitation at the Manor if he fought Hermione. He would take anything he could get, even if it meant it had to come to that. He had a feeling in his gut it wouldn't have to if he played his cards right. He didn't exactly just have an interest in his son. He wanted to make things right with his son's mother as well. He wanted to make up for lost time and not being there for them the past five years. He had a feeling that it probably hadn't been a cake walk for Hermione. Being a single parent was hard, no doubt. He didn't want to admit to himself that he probably wasn't good for either of them in his current state.

"Right. Well... How about we meet at that cafe next to my work in about half an hour?" Hermione asked. "We can go from there."

"I'll see you there," Malfoy agreed. He ended the call with a quick goodbye, practically hanging up on Hermione. She looked down at her phone to see that the call had ended. Probably so that she didn't have a chance to change her mind. She set the phone down and quickly headed to her room to change her clothes. It was going to be an interesting day.


	8. Chapter 8

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco: **

Draco let out a breath and stood up, hurrying about the room looking for his shoes. Pansy was watching him closely through the mirror as she continued to dry her hair. He cursed as he entered her closet. Pansy listened to him tossing clothes and various items around as a feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach.

"You going to go pick up?" she asked him. The tone in her voice had a slight pang of irritation. Draco paused mid-toss and ran an exasperated hand through his hair.

"Do you know where I left my other shoe?" he asked. He was aware she had asked him a direct question but already knew where their conversation was going to go. This meant that Draco was about to lie.

"Draco…" she began impatiently. He sighed.

"I'm going to go look at some places," he murmured. That had been his plan right? He was going to start looking for a place of his own? And yeah, of course he was going to try to pick up but that probably wouldn't be until later, after he was done with Hermione. Doing whatever it was they were going to do. His heart quickened a little bit. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He wasn't really in a position to make demands. Still…part of him thought that perhaps he might get lucky enough to convince her he could clean up and be what she needed him to be. Whatever that was. He thought the recent events leading up to this had been very curious. He paused a moment.

What were the odds that of all the people he could have run into it was her... There were a lot of neighborhoods in the area. How on earth had they wound up just coming across each other by chance? Draco didn't believe in many things but the universe had him asking a lot of questions recently. He wasn't cliché or sappy. Not by any means. He didn't believe in love at first sight or fate. He had been taught that love was something you learned how to do after you were pushed into a partnership of convenience. The love came much later or not at all. So it was basically like a unicorn. He was aware that they existed but it was a very rare occurrence that you were ever able to see one in your life. And just like unicorns, love was not bred in captivity. Those notions were for fairytales and young girls. But if there was some force that existed outside of chance and himself and every person he'd ever known… It felt like they were pushing him really hard in her direction and she was exceedingly more receptive to him than he thought she would be. Draco was either very lucky or was seeing something bigger than him revealing cards he didn't know they had.

"You don't need to," Pansy muttered. She placed her wand down on her little glamour table where all the magic happened. Literally. If she didn't spend as much time in the mirror as she did, she would be as plain as a piece of bread. A squished piece of bread. She turned to face Draco and he felt the corners of his mouth turn down as he got a good look at her. He didn't think he should be the one to inform her that her real nose was showing. It was a small shock to him seeing as he hadn't seen the genuine natural Pansy for many years. He figured now wasn't the right time to deflect attention from himself by pointing out her flaws.

"I do need to," he drawled, unconsciously rubbing at his nose a bit. He buried his attention in the small trinkets she had on top of her dresser. Pansy crossed her arms indignantly over her chest, drawing her black silk robe tighter around her small form. He knew she hated it when he wouldn't look at her while she was trying to have a serious talk. He just found it difficult to face the music…or the reality that his actions affected other people. His instinct was to bury any feeling he had about a difficult situation. Perhaps it was an attempt to keep the guilt from seeping in. Mostly because no matter how hard he tried to consider someone else's feelings, if he really didn't care, he didn't care. And although he didn't want to completely destroy Pansy, he couldn't make himself fake emotions he didn't have. He stared at her blankly, meeting her icy blue stare. She was angry with him. He could tell. He'd seen that look many times.

"Why even come here at all?" she snapped. She returned her attention to the mirror and picked up her wand a little more aggressively than Draco felt comfortable with. He took a small step further into the closet. She angrily ran the wand around her head, black strands of hair whirling through the air in the tornado of her magic, sections falling to rest straight down her back. She leaned forward and opened a small drawer on her glamour table and pulled out her stash. She bent and sniffed hard. Draco felt his gag reflex react to the taste he knew was running down her throat. He swallowed hard as his mouth began to salivate and his stomach turned He was anxious. He just wanted to leave. Pansy straightened up and glanced at herself in the mirror. She reached up and wiped at her nose, rubbing white residue from her nostril. When she pulled her hand back there was blood smeared up her pale fingers. He inwardly cringed as she pointed her wand at her face. Her nose transformed into the nose he had been accustomed to seeing over the last couple of months. She dabbed at it gently with a tissue to make sure the bleeding had stopped. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Look... I need to get going," Draco began as he spotted his other shoe at the foot of the bed, slightly hidden underneath the blankets. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pressed the small button on the side. It was going to be 1:30. Pansy's eyes narrowed to slits as she watched him flip the phone open and begin to text. He returned his phone to his pocket and moved forward to retrieve his shoe.

"Where?" she demanded. He could tell she was feeling her shit. Pansy was one thing when she was angry. She was quite another when she was high and angry. And sleep deprived. And probably hungry.

"I already told you." Draco's voice came out flat.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" she was standing in front of him now.

"Who do you think?" he snapped. He was aware they were alone in the house. There would be no one to break them up if an altercation occurred.

"Show me then!" Her voice was rising steadily. She reached down and shoved her hand in his pocket. It was the wrong pocket but Draco felt violated all the same. He had to resist the urge to shake her.

"What the FUCK?" He threw his hands up and stepped around her heading for the bedroom door. "What the hell do you think this _is _Pansy?" he shouted. He reached for the doorknob and hissed, immediately pulling his hand back. The knob was glowing white hot. His hand was red and already blistering. His temper was beginning to boil just like the flesh on his palm. He turned slowly to find Pansy holding her own phone in her hand. She held it out. He could see a phone number on the screen and recognized it as Hermione's.

In most cases a 'cheater' would panic and start trying to come up with a lie. Seeing as Draco never really viewed his living situation as a relationship he couldn't really be considered a cheater. That would entail him actually shagging Hermione. Last time he checked he was the one who had found Pansy in bed with her druggy "roommate," Vincent. That pretty much blasted monogamy off the table for him. She had no right.

"Is this her number?" she asked, brandishing her phone at him. Draco's jaw was clenched very tight. His lips were pressed together so hard they were turning white. Pansy smiled an ugly grimace of a smile as she threatened to press the call button. Draco lost it. He couldn't explain to Pansy how important it was that she didn't fuck this up for him. He couldn't begin to. Not when he was barely processing the situation himself. He didn't know how to be a father. He became a father overnight. And he spent five years in Azkaban ruining a life he didn't think he had. Ruining his chances of a future. Any future. And the whole fucking time Hermione Granger was raising _his SON. _How truly ridiculous could his life get? If the plot got any thicker he would suffocate. And now Pansy was standing in front of him _playing _her stupid games. Typical. Playing with his life. A life he wasn't even sure he'd have an opportunity to build. He couldn't even get out of his own way to do so. And now she was inserting herself as another road block. And it was funny to her.

His burned hand snaked out quickly and grasped her wrist. Pansy's eyes widened. He reached up with his free hand and plucked her phone away from her. She immediately began fighting him for it. He put his hands over his head and out of her reach. Pansy was scrambling up his body like a small child. He figured they looked like children fighting over toys. How sad was that? He promptly snapped her phone in half, crushing the screen in one hand. Pansy shrieked and pulled her hand back. She slapped Draco in the face hard, her fingers bent with full intention to claw him. Her long manicured nails dug into the skin under his eye and his cheekbone. He hardly felt it even though he was fully aware she had struck him. He shoved her away from him and watched her stumble over a pillow on the floor. She fell back onto her couch and stared up at him through wide blue eyes.

Draco threw her broken phone on the cushion next to her. His face felt wet. He reached up to touch the nail gashes and knew what he would see when he brought his hand away from his face. He wiped his fingers on his sweatshirt and shook his head as he turned to go. On his way out of the room he made it a point to grab Pansy's stash and throw it all over the floor. He left the house without a word to her. He pushed past Vincent just as he was walking up the steps to the porch. Vincent took one look at his face and kept walking. It was a wise move.

**Hermione:**

She had received his text message a few minutes ago. She sat on her couch frowning a bit. Was he going to flake out on her? He had told her he was running a little late and that he hoped she hadn't already gone to the café. She hadn't responded to him. She felt a little dumb sitting there dressed up with no where to go. She also felt dumb for making an attempt to look nice at all. She shouldn't care what he thought. She wasn't sure what she should expect of him now. She wasn't even sure what kind of person he actually was or would be in their new dynamic. With Malfoy it had felt like _almost. _For a long time. They were almost on neutral terms. They were almost on their way to becoming friends… Then they had had sex for no reason in particular except that maybe the war was driving them both a little insane and since logic had stepped out of the door it seemed okay to do so. So what kind of person was Malfoy when he didn't hate you? She had no idea. Her phone buzzed again and she flipped it open with a small shake of her head.

"I'm sorry. I ran into a small inconvenience on my way out. Would you still like to meet? I will be there in 20 minutes at most."

She stared at his words for a moment and then sent him a short response.

"I'll meet you there."

She shut her phone, grabbed her small purse, and exited her flat.

**Draco: **

Hermione didn't know but he was already at the café. He stood in the single toilet bathroom with the door locked, examining himself. He glared at his reflection taking in the deep scratches on his face. He held his wand up and quickly healed them, although small pink lines were left behind. He then set about fixing his hair and magically altering his clothes so he wouldn't look like such a bum. He then pointed his wand at his face again and murmured a small spell to get rid of the bags under his eyes. He splashed some cool water on himself, checked his breath and did a once over before he exited the bathroom. He exited the small café and sat on the patio to wait for Hermione. He was hoping his day would improve from here but with his luck he could never be sure.

He was about to light his second cigarette when he heard footsteps. He glanced over his shoulder to find Hermione standing behind him looking unsure of herself. He stood up to greet her and fell short wondering if he should pull a chair out for her or ask if he could get her a coffee… Or maybe shake her hand?

"Hello Malfoy," she said. Her tone was neutral. He could tell she was measuring herself the way he was. Although the use of his last name had put him off a bit. He had a small flash back to when they were in school or meeting to discuss war plans

"Thank you for coming," he said. "Did you want something to drink…or…" he trailed off.

"Well…maybe not right this minute," she replied as she took the seat across from the one he had been sitting in. He nodded slightly and sat back down swallowing his nerves. She kept her small purse on her shoulder and folded her hands into her lap. She sat straight and appeared to be tense. Maybe this meeting would be as brief as the others had been. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or happy she showed up at all. They were silent for a moment. He wasn't sure where to start. He'd never thought he'd be in a situation where he was meeting with Hermione Granger. He couldn't say it was for fun. He couldn't say it was casual. He basically never thought he would see her again in a life outside of school or the war. He honestly figured one or both of them would be dead by now. Or maybe just him.

"I know I'm the last person you thought you would be sitting here with… Like this. Er. Under these circumstances, I should say," he began.

"That would be an understatement," Herrmione said quietly. Draco just stared at her and sighed. Her light brown eyes were boring into his.

"Well it is a situation I never thought I would be in," he said. "Or we… I didn't mean to. That night."

"Didn't mean to what, Malfoy?" she asked, her eyebrows raising slightly. Her arms crossed over her chest. Her body language was worrying him. It didn't occur to him that maybe she was trying to protect herself. That she felt scared. He figured she just hated the fact that it was him of all people. He was confused. She had hugged him last time they'd seen each other. Maybe she just felt sorry for him.

"I…" he stammered. "I didn't mean to leave you in the condition I left you in. It was-"

"What? A mistake?" she asked.

"Er… No…?" he hated that he sounded so unsure. He saw a slight flush appear on Hermione's cheeks.

"I know it's hard for any man to turn down a woman in the state I was in that night," Hermione said curtly. "I don't expect you to want to take responsibility for something that happened ages ago and under such circumstances-" Draco opened his mouth to tell her to hold on. But she pushed on. "I get I'm not the sort you usually fornicate with. And honestly what are we supposed to say to each other? We can't just pull something out of nothing. This wasn't supposed to happen. And you don't have to be there. I've been doing this by myself for a long while and I'll be fine-"

"Hermione-" he began.

"Really, Malfoy. It's fine. We are who we are and us trying to do this together would be far more complicated than I would like and potentially dangerous for my son."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted her to slow down.

"I mean really. Where are we supposed to pick up?" she went on. "I don't have to state the obvious. We're two people that would not have mixed in our lives. And if the wrong people found out he's yours-" Draco's heart started pounding hard. To the point where his breath hitched and his muscles tensed. His fingers began to quiver, "They would probably try to come after him. Not to mention if our world finds out. It could be detrimental to him. Seriously detrimental."

She had said he was Draco's. Draco had a son. Xavier was his son. Tears began to prickle at the back of Draco's eyes as he stared at the mother of his child. She was the mother of his child. He was overwhelmed. His thoughts were racing. He didn't know how to respond. He had listened to every word that had come out of Hermione's mouth. He was processing it slowly but he understood what she was saying and found that he was horrified. He hadn't had time to understand the gravity of the situation. His son. He hadn't stopped to think about what it meant for Xavier that he was a Malfoy. Draco hadn't even thought about the danger he himself was in, now that he was out of prison. Not only had he turned his back on the Deatheaters… but he had given them up and was responsible for a lot of death. On both sides. The drugs really had made him forget the reality of his situation. He hadn't even stopped to wonder why Hermione worked at a muggle bookstore, in a muggle neighborhood, far away from where she really belonged. It was because of him. Because she had his son. She was protecting his son.

Draco felt like punching himself in the face. He quickly pulled his sunglasses over his eyes before the tears could fall. Hermione watched him looking alarmed. He reached up and wiped his cheeks. He felt like leaving. He would be doing her a favor. Maybe the only favor he could and would ever do for her. He felt like he might be sick and he wanted to get high. He pushed all those urges down as everything was sinking in. This was a seriously bad situation.

"Bloody fucking hell," he whispered. Hermione just watched him patiently although he could tell she was extremely nervous. He was making her nervous. He had no idea what to say to her. "I'm sorry. For everything," was all he managed to choke out. She was silent. He made a movement to stand as though he were going to leave. Hermione's face fell a little bit. He felt hopeless. This was hopeless. But the look in her eyes stopped him dead in his tracks.

"_Are you going to be a bloody coward the rest of your life?"_

His thoughts bounced around his head berating him.

"What do _you_ want? What do you need me to do?" he asked.

Hermione ran her fingers through her hair. This was not going at all how either of them thought. She was trying to be realistic The whole way over to the shop she had thought about what she was going to say. What she was going to do. How she would handle this.

"I want to know how you really feel about it," she said quietly. Draco gaped at her. He felt like a complete idiot going on the way he was. She probably could see what a mess he was. He couldn't blame her for not wanting him around. If that's what she wanted. "I'm open to discussing this with you, but we need to get really clear on where we both stand. So where do you stand?"

_Where do you stand?_

Draco shook his head. What did she want him to say? How did he feel? He didn't know. He lit his cigarette and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He found all the old Malfoy traits were dead inside of him. The old him would have laughed. But he wasn't the old Malfoy. Not even on the night he put his child inside of her. The old Malfoy would never have touched her. And he realized what a complete and utter prat the old Malfoy was. Hermione didn't know who he was now. He needed to resist his old urges to run and to shut down. He needed to have this conversation instead of walking away from it because it was too much. It was too much for her too. But she was in it and she didn't have a choice anymore. She had made the decision to keep his son, knowing what it meant. The old him would have told her to get rid of the impure thing she was carrying. Today he was in awe that she hadn't.

"Why…" he began. "What made you decide to have him?" He wasn't sure if this question was a mistake. "Did you know he was mine?"

Hermione looked angry for a moment. He hadn't meant to offend her. He hadn't asked the question arrogantly.

"Please don't take that question the wrong way," he said quickly. "I just… I just want to know."

"I did," she said. "I knew he was yours."

"So…why?" Draco asked again.

"Because he was part of me too," she said plainly. "I never planned to tell you. "

He considered this.

"Why?" he asked again. He felt simple. Trying to grasp why she would decide to go through with something that would tie her to him. Forever.

"Because I'm a mudblood, Malfoy," she snapped. "That's all I've ever been to you." She held up her arm and flashed her scar at him. "Why would I want to tell you? So you can laugh and tell me I'm lying? So you can hang your pureblood superiority over me? So you could reject him anyway? You went to Azkaban before I even knew. And by that point things got so ugly I realized he would never have a normal life if I did tell you. I didn't know what would happen. And honestly with the way our world is right now, revealing that you and I mixed our genetics could get both me and Xavier killed. And probably you too if you didn't jump on the band wagon with the rest of your people. Attacks still happen quite frequently on my kind."

He was shocked. He thought the answer would be simply because she hated him and thought he was a monster and didn't want him to poison the purity and innocence of her son. That could still very well be part of it.

"I made the choice to lay with you that night," Draco began. "If I was going to wave my pureblood superiority in your face don't you think I would have done it the second I realized you were…"

"Making a sexual advance?" Hermione offered.

"Yes!" Draco exclaimed. "I never quite understood why you did that. Still don't . But by that point blood purity didn't mean shit to me. And still doesn't. I figured you didn't want to tell me because I'm a monster."

"Are you?" she asked. Draco came to a dead halt. He felt the tears beginning to threaten to make a second appearance.

"I don't want to be," he said shakily.

She looked at him so hard he began to feel a bit insecure.

"For what it's worth," Draco pushed on, "I only want good things for you. And for him. I respect what you're saying. And I don't want to complicate your lives. His life."

Draco thought he was doing the first selfless thing he had done in a very long time. He would let her go on the way she had been before he escaped his fate in Azkaban. He could go on and continue to be a junkie. He would be doing the kid a favor. Realistically Hermione and he were just strangers with history. He didn't know If He could change. Why would he subject her to the awful quality of life he'd been living? He didn't think it right to latch on to her. She couldn't save him. He couldn't expect her to put herself in danger to save him from drowning. He would probably drown her right along with him.

Hermione stayed quiet watching him.

"Thank you for meeting with me. If you ever need anything for him just ask. Alright? It's best for him. I'll probably royally fuck it up." Draco stood and began to quickly walk away. Hermione opened her mouth to say something bit found herself at a loss.

It was for the best right? Draco took one last look at her before he turned the corner. He thought she might have been crying. Draco opened his phone to find several texts from Vincent's phone. He didn't even bother to read them. Instead, he called his dealer. He wanted to male it go away. And he was going to make it go away. He wasn't opposed to it going away for good. If he was lucky, he could make it happen. He was going to make it happen.

Draco had completely missed the strange man who had been watching a ways down the road from the café. The man was thrilled that he had finally tracked the youngest Malfoy down. He apparated away. Draco didn't realize he wasn't the only one who was planning on making Draco go away. He didn't realize he had simultaneously put Hermione in danger as well.

_**A/N: I know it's been a very long time since I've updated. I wrote this on my phone since my laptop broke a long time ago. I apologize for any mistakes I may have made and didn't catch. Technololgy is crazy! Reviews are welcome. **_


	9. Chapter 9

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco:**

Draco sat in Jasper's living room as he weighed out his drugs. Jasper was rambling on about one thing or another. Draco wasn't listening. Jasper's chick came out of their room high as a kite with her tiny robe open, revealing her bare breasts and a tiny pair of underwear. Draco wasn't entirely sure if they could even be considered underwear. They almost didn't exist. As he took in all her nude glory, Draco wondered if every drug dealer had a stereotypical bachelor pad complete with a naked girlfriend who always seemed to be naked. He inwardly rolled his eyes. Muggles were weird. He had never been acquainted with a witch who was content wandering about with all her assets on display. In his experience, witches were much more modest. They valued themselves and knew that their body was only for their spouse to see. Usually after marriage. Draco knew this was how it was supposed to be, but his generation of magical folk did have a lot of sex out of wedlock. Although it was frowned upon. So perhaps it was just a pureblood thing and he had never had the pleasure of meeting any witches or wizards who had such loose morals. At least of the promiscuity variety. Even Pansy was generally covered up when there were people around. Draco figured it had a lot to do with the type of person some one was. He would be completely livid if any woman of his bounced around flaunting herself to everyone who came through the door.

"You want a piece of pizza mate?" Jasper asked motioning to his little table in his dining room. Draco shook his head and leaned into the soft couch he was sitting on.

"Baby, are you going to come watch a movie with me?" his girlfriend asked. She was rubbing Jasper's chest tenderly .

"Why don't you put it on in here love?" Jasper asked as he lit a cigarette. "We've got company." His girlfriend immediately pulled away from him and pushed herself off the couch, grabbing a small sack of dope as she went. "Sophia!" Jasper called as she walked away. She flipped her red hair over her shoulder and looked at him through narrow eyes. "That shit is for my customers. Put it _back_." He tapped the table with his finger firmly. Giving Jasper the dirtiest look she could muster, Sophia threw the baggy back at him and entered their bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Jasper gave a little chuckle and returned to what he was doing.

"I didn't mean to intrude," Draco muttered. "I was going to head out in a minute."

"Don't mind her mate," Jasper said, his cigarette dangling from his lips. Draco watched as it danced with the rhythm of his speech. "She's just cranky cause I'm not letting her chase the dragon for free."

"Sounds like true love," Draco drawled. Jasper laughed a bit.

"I stopped searching for love long ago," he said.

"I'm starting to believe all of them are batshit," Draco replied, pulling a cigarette from behind his ear. He lit it.

"Perhaps just the type of women we choose," Jasper said. He handed Draco his sack and Draco handed him the money.

"You know any good hotels in the area?" he asked. Jasper shrugged.

"There's one about a fifteen minute walk from here," Jasper replied. "You know the one on Meadow Grove." Draco didn't.

"What's it called?" he asked.

"Meadow Grove Inn," Jasper replied.

"You don't say." Draco pocketed his dope and stood up. "Well, thanks then. I'll probably swing by tomorrow."

"What's going on with you and your girl?" Jasper asked as he wrapped up his product and got up to return it to a small safe he had installed behind a picture in his living room wall. Draco always found it interesting how muggles chose to hide their important items without magic. He also found it interesting that Jasper asked him about his personal life.

"I wouldn't call her that…" Draco replied unenthusiastically.

"She kick you out er somethin?" Jasper asked.

"Not really sure." Draco shrugged. "I left. And I don't particularly want to return." Jasper nodded in understanding.

"Well some women just aren't worth the trouble. And sometimes two people are just bad together. You know what I mean? No use staying if a person doesn't bring out your best."

Draco's pusher sounded very wise in that moment. He wondered how old Jasper actually was but thought it an odd time to ask.

"I've known Pansy forever," Draco said. "Since we were kids. We were never supposed to be anything. Never was in our cards. When I got out of Az- er prison, I didn't really have anywhere to go. I stayed longer than I intended and really shouldn't have." Jasper had met Pansy a couple of times. She would sometimes hit him up when Vincent couldn't pull through for her, which didn't happen too often. She had come with Draco to pick up.

"I can tell that girl has it bad for you," Jasper replied. "I also got the vibe that you two weren't on the same wave length."

"The set up was convenient for a minute," Draco shrugged. "I shouldn't have done it."

"We all make mistakes mate," Jasper said.

"Yeah. I have a good habit of making poor decisions. I'm about to go make another one." Draco didn't realize how sad he looked. Jasper had picked up on it. He usually ushered his customers out of his place as soon as their business was concluded. He generally didn't have a soft spot for junkies. They all had a sob story or a chip on their shoulder. They all brought trouble after a while if you let them. He had only been acquainted with Draco for a couple months but he'd seen him nearly every day since they'd been introduced. Draco had never caused problems. The young man seemed to understand how these types of things were supposed to work and never overstepped. Something about the look on his face had made Jasper feel like he should stall Draco for a bit. He had bought quite a bit more product than he usually did and for some reason that had worried Jasper a bit. He didn't like to see the young ones get sucked down by heroin but money was money. And if Draco was planning to use all that in one night by himself in some hotel, Jasper had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing Draco tomorrow at all. And possibly never again.

"I get the feeling that there's something on your mind other than your domestic situation," Jasper said. "You want a brew?"

"I need to fix," Draco replied. "I'll be fine after that. Thanks though."

Jasper motioned to his couch. "Go right ahead. That shit is strong. Wouldn't want you to fall out while you're by yourself. There's no coming back from that."

"Wouldn't be opposed to that," Draco blurted out. He felt like clapping his hand over his mouth. Jasper nodded slowly and got up. He entered his kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers and pushed one into Draco's hand. Draco wanted to take his words back and leave but he was scared. Because deep down he knew he was serious. He recalled the last time he'd overdosed. How quickly it happened and how easy it had been. How easy it would be. He felt pathetic.

"Sit," Jasper said. It wasn't exactly an invitation and for some reason Draco wanted to. So he sat.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked. Draco could lie. He could just say keeping up with his habit was wearing on him. That he wasn't sure he could stop and wanted to just end it instead. It wasn't a lie. But it was only the tip of the truth and as it ran deeper, Draco just felt more and more panicked. There was layer upon layer and the further down they went the worse they got. Draco wanted to confide to someone but he didn't think it wise. And that made it worse.

"I found something out recently," Draco began. He was trying to figure out how to word things in a way that wouldn't reveal too much about himself. Like the things he was forbidden to share with a muggle. "Before I went to prison I was into some bad shit. Family shit…"

Jasper sipped his beer, meeting Draco's gaze.

"My father and I both ended up in prison. He's still there…"

Draco was really going for it. He wasn't even sure if Jasper was a trustworthy person. He pressed his lips together and eyed Jasper suspiciously.

"Go on," Jasper said. "You probably can't tell me anything that's going to shock me."

Draco strongly disagreed. He pulled out his black and fixed his shot. Jasper sat patiently as Draco finished and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a morbid tattoo marring Draco's forearm. Jasper's eyes narrowed as he examined the tattoo. Draco didn't notice, his full attention on his task at hand. Jasper dropped his beer. Draco pulled the needle out of his arm and leaned back into the couch cushions.

"Fuck!" Jasper yelled jumping up. Draco sat up straighter and watched Jasper mop his beer up with a towel. When he was finished, Jasper sat down again but Draco felt like something had changed in his dealer's demeanor.

"That's quite a mark you got there," Jasper murmured. "Where'd you get it?"

Draco looked down at his arm and pushed his sleeve down. It wasn't that Jasper had asked about the "tattoo" on his arm. It was the fact that he had referred to it as a mark and not a tattoo. Draco was immediately suspicious. He was quite certain that Jasper was a muggle so he wasn't sure if he was being paranoid or if he should be listening to his instincts.

"Stupid teenage mistake," Draco replied. "That's all."

Draco and Jasper stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. The air in the room had definitely become thick with tension. Draco's warning alarms were going off.

"Look, I appreciate your hospitality," Draco said, gathering his kit and drugs. He put his stuff in his sweatshirt and went to stand "But I really should be going if I want to get to that hotel. I'm not even sure where I'm going. I better head out now."

"You don't have to rush out," Jasper began. He could tell the blond was very much on edge. "Look…I've only seen a couple other marks like that one in my life," Jasper began.

Draco's heart was pounding. What were the odds of that? Fuck you, universe. He was going to have to kill Jasper and then he would have to find a new dealer. If he didn't do it right he would probably be back in Azkaban within 48 hours He wished he wasn't high. Draco reached into his sweatshirt pocket, running his fingers down his wand. He heard a gun cock. His vision may have been fuzzy around the edges but he could see the gun pointed at him plain as day.

"Well this escalated quickly," Draco snapped.

"Would you let me finish you twat?" Jasper growled. "Before you pull your little stick out and start waving it around?"

"It's not little," Draco said. And it packed a hell of a lot more kick than the pistol Jasper was holding. Jasper chuckled.

"I've been alive a lot longer than you," Jasper replied. "A lot longer. Probably longer than your elders, son. So why don't we talk?"

Draco stayed very still, his mouth shut tight.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a wizard," Jasper said thoughtfully. "And if you weren't strung out you probably wouldn't have been naïve enough to peg me for a muggle. Unless you're one of those that isn't particularly gifted in the arts."

"What should I peg you for then?" Draco asked. He was trying his hardest not to nod out, but the drugs were hitting him really hard and he was too stressed out to enjoy it.

"I'm no wizard," was Jasper's reply. "But I've had many friends who were. And if that mark is what I think it is, which I'm quite sure it is, you're on the wrong side of the war mate."

Draco had figured this out a long time ago. He didn't need his immortal drug dealer to tell him that. He spent 5 years in prison thinking long and hard about his circumstances and had feared for his and his family's life just enough to rat out "his people." Draco stared at Jasper long and hard trying to decide if he was full of shit. But he definitely knew something about Draco's kind if he could identify a dark mark and so on and so forth. The question was… was he friend or foe? At the moment he was foe, in Draco's book.

Jasper finally put his pistol down and leaned into his chair, relaxing a bit. Draco wasn't going to do the same. He had let this man lull him into a false sense of security once tonight. He wasn't going to do it again.

"I'm not on any side," Draco said after a moment. "I left that behind me when I got out of prison."

"You can't just leave that sort of thing behind," Jasper said. Knowing just a tiny bit of Draco's background filled in a lot of blanks for Jasper. He now understood why the young wizard was trying to off himself. He thought it strange that Draco was able to throw so much money away on his vice. He seemed to have endless pockets for such a young man. Jasper never really questioned it. Draco was marked, which meant he was probably what the wizards called a pureblood, which meant he had old money. If Draco was a Deatheater, then someone would be looking for him to tie off the loose ends. "If I'm correct, your people don't like a traitor."

"I don't like my people," Draco said.

"So you're hiding amongst muggles? Is that it?" Jasper asked.

"Not hiding," Draco said defensively. At least not entirely. _Even the pusher can see you're a coward. _Draco gritted his teeth. "Just because you know what I am, doesn't mean you know a thing about me or my life."

Jasper sighed as Draco got up angrily and headed for the door.

"Listen," Jasper began slowly, "Why don't you stay here tonight?" Draco scoffed as he checked his pockets to make sure he had everything he came with . "You could save a bit of money. And perhaps avoid any trouble you might run into on the streets at this hour."

"Money really isn't an issue," Draco said. "And I don't know if you've caught on yet, but I really don't care about trouble either. It would be better for some people if I wasn't alive. Safer. I think you could understand that. And I really don't see why you're so keen on helping me, a traitor on the wrong side of the war."

"That war means very little to me," Jasper said. "Doesn't really affect my kind and we managed to stay out of it this long . There's something really foolish about a blood war. I've tasted all types of blood and let me tell you, they all satiate the thirst the same."

"You're a vampire," Draco said flatly. That was definitely news to him. Draco had never been acquainted with a vampire before but he'd heard stories. Wizards used to use vampires to keep their children from running off in the old days. Draco's father used to tell him to stay in the yard or a vampire might scoop him up. Because children were vulnerable and easy meals for vampires. They liked children best because they could steal a child's youth and years. That's why they could live forever. They stole a person's remaining years when they fed. He was taught that they were nasty, impure, undesirable, evil creatures. Like mudbloods. He didn't realize they looked so normal. He thought they would have claws and fangs. Perhaps gray dead skin. Yellow or red eyes. Of course when he went to school he became a little more informed about them, but he was always a bit curious about what they looked like. He figured if his father could be wrong about mudbloods, he could be wrong about vampires as well. As it turned out, purebloods were really ignorant individuals.

"That I am," Jasper said. "Were you expecting a boogy man?"

"I wasn't expecting you to be anything other than ordinary, but here we are," Draco said.

"I'm not someone you need to worry about," Jasper said. "If that's what has you trying to flee from here so hard."

"I had big plans for myself this evening. What I don't understand is why you would want me to hang around. I'm just an addict. No different than any other addict that you kick out of here daily." Draco was frustrated. His whole night had gone awry with a simple conversation.

"That isn't entirely true," Jasper said. "Turns out there's more to both of us than meets the eye."

Draco's phone began to ring. He glanced at the screen and let out a growl of irritation as he saw Vincent's number flash across his screen. He saw that he had missed several calls and texts and tossed his phone on the couch, before he sat down and put his face in his hands. Jasper picked up his beer and offered it again. Draco took it and sighed, taking a long drink.

"It's all just too fucking much," he murmured. Jasper nodded.

"I can see that," Jasper said sympathetically. Draco looked up from under furrowed brows. Jasper could see that the drugs were doing a number on him. But he could also see that the drugs were just to numb the thorns Draco had stuck in him.

"I wasn't supposed to get out of prison," Draco began. "Ever. I made some arrangement and they cut me loose."

"Those said arrangements weren't very convenient for you were they?" Jasper asked.

"It doesn't matter. Things stopped being easy a long time ago. I did it for my family. I could've stayed in prison the rest of my life. That would have been fine. But it didn't work out that way." Draco shook his head. "There was a girl, before I got sent away." Jasper nodded. There was always a girl. "She's muggleborn. She was helping me towards the end. We were in school together. I used to make her life a living hell."

Jasper chuckled. "Boys show fascination in females in all sorts of ways. You pull her pig tails?"

Draco sighed. "No. I was ugly to her. Really ugly. I hated her for a lot of reasons. One was because I was taught to. Another was because she wasn't what she was supposed to be."

"It doesn't help if you carry it with you. Burdens of the past," Jasper said.

Draco thought for a moment, his eyes closing slowly.

"I hated her because she was beautiful. And smart. Even with her buck teeth. Smarter than everyone . So I let her feel that. Naturally we ended up on opposite sides of the spectrum," Draco was rambling his thoughts more than having a conversation. It felt like a confession more than anything . Jasper was content with letting him tell his tale. He had always been fascinated by the human condition. Whether you were magical or not. He found that most human experiences escaped him. He'd been this way so long, his human life was a distant memory lived by someone else. He didn't remember what it was like anymore.

"And one night all that changed. And gradually, even if I denied it, everything else began to change with it. But she got wiped away with everything else when they locked me up. I thought little about her. Until I saw her again."

This was it. The true source of his sadness. Draco took a deep breathe.

"You know that day you met me at the café?" he asked. Jasper knew. He remembered Draco had taken off running across the street. "I went to talk to her. And I found out we have a son together. That I'll never be able to know."

And all the pieces came together. Jasper felt sad for the man sitting in front of him. That was the thorn in his side. He had bred with a muggleborn witch. He was a Deatheater. The wrong people probably wanted Draco dead and if they found out he had a family or child with a muggleborn, his offspring was just as dead as he would be.

Draco ran his hands into his hair.

"So I've got to protect them…" he said quietly. "She never deserved me. It's the least I can do."

"You think you can do that dead?" Jasper asked bluntly. Draco met his gaze.

"If I'm dead, there's nothing to tie me to them . And she can go on with her life," Draco said.

"Your Deatheater buddies probably already know where you are," Jasper said. He knew a thing or two or a lot about that glorified group of racists. "You're not doing your child any favors by making their job easier for them. You're making your child vulnerable. It may be wise to keep your distance but it's far from wise to abandon your offspring and leave them to the mercy of your enemies."

Draco nodded slowly. Jasper could see the wheels turning rustily in his head.

"I don't know why, but I like you Draco. Don't be an idiot. Stay off the streets tonight and get some rest. And stop trying to kill yourself," Jasper tossed Draco a blanket and sat back down in his chair. He turned his television on and sipped his beer. Draco sat quietly, with the blanket thrown on top of him. He didn't bother to move it. He was trying to make sense of what just happened. He had a feeling he had to make things right with Hermione. It was messed up the way he had left things. And more than anything, he had to try and keep her safe. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that. But perhaps _that _was the east he could do for her.

"All things are temporary," Jasper mumbled, interrupting Draco's thoughts. "You should never give up until you know it's over, and for right now my boy, you're still alive. So it's far from over."

That was the last thing Draco heard before he drifted off to sleep.

**Hermione: **

She sat on her couch in her robe and a pair of slippers, sipping a milkshake she had made. She had the television on but wasn't really paying attention to what was on. She missed her son. It was already late and she couldn't sleep but figured it would be inconsiderate to show up at Ginny's at this hour simply because she was lonely . And sad. It would only worry them. She figured her business was concluded with Malfoy. They had laid out where they stood. After Hermione had gotten home that night, she had set up extra wards to protect her home. It had to be done. As she drifted off that evening on her couch, a man stood outside staring up at her living room window. He was unable to to come any closer to her place of residence due to the presence of some strong protective spells. He was angered by this.

A strange vibration began to cause the lamp in front of Hermione's living room window to quiver. Hermione stirred in her sleep until she heard the lamp fall from the table, the light bulb shattering with the impact as it hit the floor. Hermione sat up straight, her eyes wide. The only sound that could be heard was the show on the television. She held out her hand and her wand came obediently to rest in her palm. She wrapped her fingers around it tightly, feeling comforted by its weight and moved slowly to the window. She could see a visible crack running up the glass but that was the only evidence of any kind of intrusion. Whoever it had been hasn't set her wards off… But that either meant they could feel them and didn't try to get closer, or it was a muggle trying to burglarize her home. The second option seemed unlikely. She ran through her list of options as she stood there examining the crack in the window, wondering what could have caused it without setting of her wards. It worried her. Hermione apparated out of her home and into Ginny and Harry's living room. She didn't know how she was going to explain it without bringing up Malfoy, but she had to make sure Xavier was alright.


	10. Chapter 10

**What Lies Beneath **

**Hermione:**

Ginny brought Hermione a cup of tea. Harry sat on the couch in front of his best friend, his hair ridiculously tousled from sleep. It made Hermione feel nostalgic. It reminded her of when they would sneak about in the middle of the night at Hogwarts getting into all kinds of mischief. She missed those days.

"So what happened tonight?" Harry asked. Hermione had small bags forming under her eyes and looked exhausted. Like she hadn't been sleeping well for quite some time.

"Somebody was at my house," Hermione began. "I don't think anyone tried to enter. But I think whoever it was wanted me to know they were there. I put wards up since Malfoy was released… Just in case. Not necessarily because I'm worried about him. I'm pretty sure none of his people know I'm affiliated with him in any kind of way. But you can never be too careful.

"I fell asleep on the couch watching television. I woke up because something knocked my lamp to the floor. When I got up to examine it, I saw a crack down my living room window. I'm not sure what caused it, but none of my wards were triggered. I feel like someone could tell they were there and maybe tried to test them… I'm just not sure how they managed to crack the window without setting the alarms off."

Harry and Ginny looked very concerned.

"I'm sorry to show up at this hour," Hermione said. "I just wanted to make sure Xavier was alright and make sure nothing odd had happened over here. I wouldn't have come if I didn't think it was important."

"It is important Mione," Harry said. "And we're glad you came. You should definitely stay here tonight. I'll have someone go to your flat in the morning and check everything out. I should contact the office." Harry stood up and ran a hand over his face. "Love, will you get the guest bedroom ready for Hermione? I'm going to reinforce our barriers."

Ginny nodded and motioned for Hermione to come with her. The two women exited the living room. Harry put a silencing spell on the room and grasped his wand. He uttered a spell and spoke the name of the auror in charge of Draco Malfoy's probation.

"This is Dunning"

The wizards voice sounded hoarse and tired upon waking. He cleared his throat.

"Lucas Dunning speaking," he said.

"Luke, it's Harry," Harry said.

"What's going on?" Luke asked.

"Hermione showed up over here tonight saying someone came to her flat. They cracked one of her windows. I was wondering if Malfoy has checked in with you recently? Is it possible for you to find out where he was tonight?"

"Draco Malfoy isn't due to check in until the end of the week," Lucas said. "We were actually supposed to go to his place of residence and make sure he's complying with his terms of release tomorrow. Give me a sec."

Harry could hear some papers rustling. Lucas grunted a small curse as he rummaged through whatever he was rummaging through. He finally found what he was looking for.

"His tracking device is actually showing me he's only a couple miles away from Miss Granger's flat. Not at his home. I suppose I could go check it out. Make sure nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Do you know if they've had any contact?" Luke asked.

"I'm not sure why they would," Harry muttered. "Hermione hasn't mentioned anything."

"Well, you should find out. I'm going to go talk to Malfoy. Make sure he's not up to anything he shouldn't be. I'll contact you in a bit. Talk to Granger." With a small pop the line disconnected. Harry stood up and walked down the hallway to his guest bedroom, where he found his wife and best friend talking quietly. He came and sat down in a cushiony chair that was positioned diagonally across from the bed.

"I contacted Malfoy's officer," he said. "I wanted to find out his whereabouts. Has he tried contacting you at all Mione?"

Hermione felt herself go very still. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to Harry. She supposed she should have expected that he would automatically suspect it may have been Malfoy but she didn't think it likely. Malfoy could've gotten a hold of her at any time if he had wanted to. He didn't need to show up at her home and break her window.

"I'm almost positive it wasn't him, Harry," she began.

**Draco: **

There was a loud abrasive knock on Jasper's door. Draco sat bolt upright on the couch and looked over at his dealer, who was looking at him just as alarmed. He brushed some chips off of his chest and grabbed his pistol from the small table next to his chair. The television went on uninterrupted in the background. Jasper checked his phone. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the morning. He growled in frustration.

"It's Lucas Dunning! I know you're on there Malfoy! Open up!"

Draco was confused and angry all at once. This hadn't happened yet in the whole time he'd been out. Of course his probation officer was going to show up at his dealer's house at 2 in the fucking morning looking for him.

"Is that a fucking cop Draco?" Jasper whispered. Draco put his finger to his lips.

"He can hear you," Draco mouthed. "He's my probation officer." Draco reached in his sweatshirt pocket and stashed his drugs in Jasper's couch.

Jasper got up and stashed his gun and quickly moved any and all drugs out of view before he made his way to the door and opened it. Draco felt extremely guilty. A tall thin man entered the living room, fully dressed in Auror attire. This was official business. He eyed Jasper suspiciously. Auror's didn't have jurisdiction over muggles, obviously. Or vampires posing as muggles. But it was still a horrible invasion of privacy.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to need you to come with me," Dunning said in his stern auror voice.

"Sorry, but what is this about? I'm not supposed to check in til the end of the week," Draco said stubbornly.

"I'm going to need you to come with me," Dunning repeated. Draco sighed and stood up, placing his blanket back on the couch. "Keep your hands where I can see them," Dunning muttered.

"Sorry about this," Draco said apologetically to Jasper as he stepped towards the door.

"Eh. Just come see me later," Jasper said with a shrug. Draco nodded and followed Lucas Dunning into the hallway. Dunning pulled Jasper's door shut and turned to Draco.

"Place your hands on the wall please," Dunning said gruffly. Draco complied.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Draco began as Dunning patted him down. He reached in his sweatshirt pocket and retrieved his wand and his phone. "Did I miss an appointment or something?"

Dunning placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Hold on," he said. With a pop they apparated into Lucas Dunning's office. He motioned for Draco to take a seat on the other side of his desk. Draco sat. "Would you like some coffee Mr. Malfoy?" Dunning asked. He pointed his wand at a little coffee maker in the corner. It roared to life louder than Draco would have expected for such a small contraption. Dunning looked tired. Draco wondered what had pulled him out of bed at this hour. Coffee meant they might be here a while.

Dunning placed a self-writing quill on a blank sheet of parchment on his desk and tapped it with his wand. Self-writing quills were used by aurors and were one hundred percent accurate.

"Why is this being recorded?" Draco asked. What the hell was going on? The little quill zoomed across the parchment, writing what Draco had just said.

"State your name for the record," Dunning replied.

"Draco Malfoy." Draco watched the quill nervously.

"Mr. Malfoy, where were you this evening?" Lucas asked. His tone implied he didn't particularly want to be here and was going through the motions.

"Where you found me," Draco replied derisively.

"Which is?" Lucas asked. He tapped the parchment slightly impatiently, raising his thin eyebrows at Draco. "You don't have to draw this out Mr. Malfoy. I don't want to be here anymore than you do. So if you tell me what I need to know, we can hopefully both go home." Draco sighed. Lucas magically served them coffee. "Do you take cream?" he asked, offering a creamer to Draco. Draco took the little container by the handle and poured a bit of cream into his cup. "Sugar?" Lucas asked. Draco's eye was twitching with irritation. He took a few cubes of sugar and tossed them roughly into his cup, glaring at his probation officer. A small amount of coffee splashed onto Dunning's desk.. Dunning took a sip from his cup and offered Draco a napkin, motioning for Draco to wipe up his mess. Draco did so, gritting his teeth. "Are you ready to continue Mr. Malfoy?" Dunning asked.

"Yes." Draco snapped. Was Dunning trying to annoy him or was Draco starting to come down?

"So where were you?" Dunning asked.

"At my friend's flat," Draco said.

"What's your friend's name?" Dunning inquired. Draco hated this. Why the hell did he have to decide to become a Deatheater? The aurors being able to pry into his life whenever they felt like it was definitely inconvenient.

"Jasper," Draco muttered reluctantly.

"What did you and Jasper do this evening?" Dunning asked.

"We drank a couple beers and watched some television and I fell asleep on his couch," Draco said. Dunning yawned and took another sip of his coffee.

"Why weren't you at your place of residence?" Dunning asked.

"I didn't feel like being there," Draco said. "I wasn't aware I was required to stay there."

"Well, tomorrow was your first scheduled home visit. Since you're on probation we're not required by law to inform you when these visits will be. Part of your terms of release is to have an established place of residence. I'm sure this was explained to you before you left Azkaban."

"So...I'm here because I wasn't at home?" Draco asked. That seemed absurd.

"I'm just informing you that after tomorrow, you will be required to be at your established place of residence by 8:00 in the evening. You will be required to confirm that you are home at 8:00 or I will have to come and collect you and take you back to Azkaban. The first time you violate you will be required to stay in Azkaban for no more than 2 days. The second time you violate it will be a week. The third, your probation will be revoked and you will have to carry out an amount of time that will be determined by the Wizengamot. "

"What if I'm planning to change my place of residency?" Draco asked.

"You will have to report to the correct department of the Ministry of Magic, fill out the proper paperwork and provide your new home address," Dunning replied. "Then you'll have to wait for a small period of time for your paperwork to be processed before you move. However, that isn't why you're here."

Draco stayed silent, staring at Dunning expectantly.

"Have you had any contact with Hermione Granger?" Dunning asked. Draco had been mid-sip. He swallowed hard, the hot liquid going down the wrong tube. He sputtered and coughed. Dunning waited for him to regain his composure.

"Would you like a sip of water?" he asked. Draco looked up to find him holding up a miniature bottled water. He felt like smacking it out of Dunning's hand, but took it grudgingly.

"Hermione Granger?" Draco asked. He felt his heart beating like a small cornered rabbit's. "Has something happened? Are her and her son alright?" Draco's mouth moved faster than his brain could. Lucas Dunning stared thoughtfully at Draco. Harry Potter had informed him of Hermione Granger's unfortunate situation, but the last he'd heard, Draco Malfoy was unaware that Miss Granger had a son. Malfoy's son. "Can you tell me?!" Draco almost yelled. He felt like shaking his probation officer.

"Have you had any contact with Miss Granger?" Dunning repeated. Draco hated this man.

"The last time I spoke to Hermione was earlier today. Before I went to Jasper's," Draco said hurriedly. The last thing he had expected was to hear her name pop out of Dunning's mouth. The last thing Dunning had expected was for Malfoy to show so much concern for Miss Granger, given their history. "Is she alright? Is _my son _alright?" Draco asked.

"I'm the one asking the questions Mr. Malfoy," Dunning remarked sternly. Draco let out a strangled growl of frustration and clasped his hands tightly behind his head to avoid striking Dunning in the face. "Did you speak to Miss Granger in person?" he continued.

"Yes." Draco growled. "We were discussing my son."

**Hermione: **

"So how many times have you two seen each other?" Harry asked.

"A few," Hermione said.

"And he never tried to hurt you?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said firmly.

"Mione, I know it's your decision but it could be so dangerous for you and Xavier. I can't even begin to stress the importance of that," Harry said.

"It doesn't matter Harry. We decided that it was in Xavier's best interest if Malfoy doesn't become involved," Hermione said quietly. Harry nodded his agreement. His face fell a little when he saw his best friend's face. She blinked hard staring at her hands clasped together in her lap. Ginny reached over and wrapped her arm around Hermione's shoulders, resting her head against Hermione's. Hermione breathed in shakily, as tears began to trickle out of her eyes. She wasn't sure why this predicament was making her cry so much. It seemed pretty cut and dry on the outside. She knew how everyone else expected her to feel about him. But deep down she didn't feel that way at all.

Harry seemed puzzled and a little uncomfortable.

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary while you were with Malfoy? Anything or anyone that didn't seem right?" Harry asked. He suddenly felt a little bad for continuing to press her, seeing as the situation seemed to be hurting her. She shook her head.

"No Harry," she sniffled. He conjured her a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes and nose. "But what if someone is after him?"

"What if someone is after _you_?" Harry asked. "Because of him?"

"Harry," Ginny warned softly .

"My priority is you and Xavier," Harry said simply. He stood and stretched.

"Harry, did you have his officer go and pick him up?" Hermione asked. "You need to tell them that they need to help him. And to let him go."

"I did. Because I thought he might be responsible for all this. And he probably is," Harry began.

"Merlin Harry," Ginny snapped.

"If anything happens to them he _will _be responsible!" Harry insisted. "It's not as if people showing up at Hermione's home in the middle of the night is a normal occurrence. _Of course _it has something to do with him."

"Look, let's let Hermione go to bed. We'll discuss it more in the morning," Ginny said. "You go call Malfoy's officer and tell him what Hermione said. To let Malfoy go." Harry nodded reluctantly and exited the room. Ginny gave Hermione a kiss on her cheek and followed her husband out. Hermione sighed and laid down. She checked her phone. There was nothing.

**Draco: **

"Have you had any contact with any Deatheaters since you've been released?" Dunning asked.

"No!" Draco replied exasperated.

"You haven't had any alterations? Any threats?"

"Not yet," Draco said. He rubbed at his eyes a bit.

"So you don't have any idea who could have come to Miss Granger's this evening?" Dunning asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Draco said sincerely. "If I did, I would tell you. I swear. The last thing I want is for somebody to hurt them."

A small chiming filled the room.

"Excuse me," Dunning muttered. He grabbed his wand and exited into the hallway outside of his office. Draco sighed. He reached into his jeans and brought out a crumpled pack of cigarettes that Dunning had missed. He snapped his fingers and lit one. He managed to smoke the entire cigarette before Dunning returned. He entered his office again and crinkled his nose at the smell of the smoke. He sat down in front of Malfoy.

"You're free to go," he said simply.

"Hermione and my son are alright?" Draco asked.

"Yes, they're alright," Dunning replied. Draco nodded.

"About my place of residence," Draco began, "I'm not going to be staying there any longer."

Dunning sighed and opened Draco's file that had been sitting on his desk. Draco was surprised to see how utterly thick it was.

"You're living with a Miss Parkinson is that correct?" Dunning asked. Draco rolled his eyes so hard he thought he might go blind.

"Yes." He muttered.

"Is this your significant other?" Dunning asked.

"No." Draco said firmly. "And I would really appreciate it if you didn't require me to go back there."

The name Parkinson was very familiar to Dunning so he summoned a file that was way thicker than Draco's.

"Is Miss Parkinson the daughter of Alabaster Parkinson?" Dunning asked. Draco nodded once.

"I'm sorry to say that due to her family's affiliation with Thomas Riddle and the Deatheaters that by law, you aren't allowed to reside with her. It would be in your best interest to move out immediately. If you don't want to violate your parole. Do you have anywhere else you can stay?" Dunning asked.

"Am I allowed to stay with my mother?" he asked. He felt like a loser.

"Immediate family is alright," Dunning replied.

"What if I'm able to find a place of my own?" Draco asked. "You couldn't help me out? Perhaps grant me an extension? I'll do my best to get into somewhere by the end of the week." He knew there was no reason for Dunning to be lenient with him but he had to try. "I'm trying to get my life together again. Any life. And I really can't go back to the wizarding world. I don't want to. I want to stay close to my son. And away from anyone who might be after me."

"Dunning sighed. "You have until the end of the week," he said simply. He tapped his wand to Draco 's. A green beam shot out of the tip and connected to the tip of the self-writing quill like an electrical current. The quill zoomed across the parchment writing a list of spells Draco had cast. The list was surprisingly short. Dunning picked up the list and scanned through it quickly before he nodded in approval. Draco was clean. Dunning handed Draco his wand and cellphone. "You may go."

"Thank you," Draco said. The relief was palpable in his voice. He got up and immediately apparated out of Dunning's office. He found himself outside of Jasper's a few minutes later. He knocked lightly and waited. Jasper opened the door and stood back so Draco could enter.

"I'm really sorry about that," Draco said adamantly.

"Don't worry about it," Jasper said. "Really. I've been raided before. I'm used to cops sniffing around."

"It was about my son's mother," Draco muttered. "I'm going over there as soon as possible." He didn't know when he decided this but he was going to go. He was going to make sure she was okay. He checked the time. It was 4:30. Jasper didn't know if he should ask.

"Is everything ok?" he said finally.

"I think so," Draco mused. "But I want to make sure."

Draco didn't sleep. He watched the sun come up. It felt like the worse waiting game he had played. Even the waiting game when nobody had any dope for sale was easier than this. Draco had left his stash where it was, buried in the couch. And when he figured he had waited long enough, he took his leave to Hermione's flat. He knew the address. He would find her.

When he arrived he didn't realize he was standing in the same spot that the intruder had stood the night before. He climbed a small flight of stairs to the second floor and sat. He would wait until she came home. It was 7:00 in the morning

**A/N: Feedback always welcomed. Thank you to everyone who is now following my story**

**It's nice to see people are reading it. **


	11. Chapter 11

**What Lies Beneath**

**Draco: **

Draco sat at the top of the stairs fiddling with a cigarette filter. He squeezed and rolled it between his fingers until the filter popped out of the paper it was encased in. He then began to rip little pieces of the filter off, letting them fall to the floor around his feet. His phone had died long ago and he had unfortunately left his charger at Pansy's house, which meant he would just have to get a new one. He wasn't sure what time it was or how long he'd been waiting but it felt like a lifetime. He was just about to light another cigarette when someone opened the door to one of the units in front of him. Three men stepped onto the patio. He identified them all as Aurors. One was Lucas Dunning. The other was Harry Potter. And the third…. Draco was praying the red hair was just a coincidence but seeing as he was sitting outside of Hermione Granger's home it could only be Ron fucking Weasley. Draco wondered if it was too late to return to Jasper's and borrow a phone charger. And then Hermione stepped out onto the patio behind the three men. She spotted him immediately.

"Malfoy!" she squeaked. Identifying the tone of her voice was difficult for him. She was definitely surprised but he couldn't tell if she was horrified or happier than she wanted to let on. He stood quickly and awkwardly as the three men spun around to face him.

"Mr. Malfoy," Lucas Dunning drawled unenthused. "What are you doing here?" Draco wanted to ask him the same. He merely pointed at Hermione, staring at his parole officer with his eyebrows raised. Potter and Weasley said nothing. Potter went about his business, examining the large crack on Hermione's living room window and Ronald Weasley glared at Draco, turning redder by the minute. His uncontrollable flushing had always given his emotions away. His fists were clenched hard at his sides. Draco ignored them, focusing his attention on her. Hermione stepped away from the three men and walked towards him a little quicker than she meant to.

"Are you alright?" he asked stupidly. His words came out sounding a little breathless and he wanted to smack his head into something .

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted rudely by some kind of outburst by Ronald Weasley. He scoffed loudly, "Are you fucking kidding me?!" he snapped . Draco could see the anger immediately leak into Hermione's golden brown eyes and he was worried for a moment that it was directed at him. Harry put a hand on his friend's arm. "Are you thick? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Hermione spun around.

"Contain yourself Ronald!" she warned. Dunning watched the confrontation happen, a bored expression etched across his features. Ronald gaped at Hermione, his face still beat red. He then spun on his heel and entered her flat. Harry followed closely behind him, looking Malfoy up and down disapprovingly as he went.

"I…er… I'm sorry to just show up like this," Draco began. He was still rolling the remainder of the cigarette filter between his fingers. "It's just… my officer came and got me earlier…" Draco trailed off, his eyes falling upon Dunning who was standing in front of Hermione's window with his arms crossed, staring sternly at Draco. ."I heard there was trouble-"

"_You're_ trouble!" Ronald called from inside.

"Ronald I swear!" Hermione yelled. Her face flushed red.

"I can see it isn't an ideal time," Malfoy added quickly. "I just wanted to make sure you and Xavier were ok. And I wanted to apologize for everything. I shouldn't have left things the way I did."

"Miss Granger, is Mr. Malfoy bothering you?" Dunning asked.

"No," Hermione said shortly. "I'm fine."

"Let me know if you need anything," Dunning muttered, moving to enter Hermione's flat. He paused for a moment. "When you two are through I actually want to discuss something with both of you. Inside, if Miss Granger feels comfortable with that." He entered the flat without another word.

"They're here doing tests," Hermione said. "They're trying to determine if magic was used to crack the window."

"Can't you do that yourself?" Draco asked. He realized the question sounded a little rude coming out and tried to correct himself. He was never too good with words. He was completely shitty at it if he was going to be honest. "I didn't mean you should have to…" he stammered. "You're just smarter than all three of them…"

Hermione rolled her eyes, a small smile turning one corner of her mouth up. He never knew she had a crooked grin. "You're rubbish at caring," she teased. "But they need to be here to make a report."

"I do. Care. I mean," he muttered. Draco felt his cheeks flush. Which didn't happen very often. He shook off his nerves and tossed his cigarette scraps off the patio. "After you?" he asked motioning to Hermione's door. She turned and entered her home. Draco followed her in to find the three men standing in the living room. Her home was small and modest. The wood floors were classy.

"You can sit if you like," Hermione muttered pointing to her couch. Draco took the invitation. He leaned into her couch taking it all in. The pictures of his son, the art, the plants. It was pretty well established that this was a very odd and uncomfortable situation but he couldn't un-fuck her and really didn't want to. Hermione sat across from him on the other couch as she usually did, crossing her long legs. She was still wearing her night clothes; a pair of shorts and t-shirt. He found himself taking her in, her legs, thighs, hips, slim waist… His eyes trailed up to her face to find she was staring at him with her eyebrows raised slightly. It was probably the wrong time to be lusting after her. He knew that. But he had spent five years in prison and then had spent very little time fucking someone he really didn't enjoy. He was a little surprised that his mind was going to go there, while Potter, and Weasley, and his parole officer were standing there. But it was too late. He already went.

Ronald Weasley cleared his throat loudly. The noise made Draco incline his head towards Weasley who was still glaring at him. He moved to Hermione's side protectively and sat next to her. Draco was surprised he hadn't sat on top of her. Hermione seemed put off by the close proximity. She crinkled her eyebrows at him and moved over a bit. Draco smirked.

"So, we did determine there was some magical residue left around the window. Seeing as Mr. Malfoy doesn't seem to know who it could have been, I'm proposing that extra precautions be taken," Dunning said outwardly. Hermione nodded slowly. "For both of you," Dunning added, waving his hand between the two of them. "You'll both be assigned to an emergency tactical team-" Draco was really starting to feel shitty. The chills and stomach cramps were starting. His nose was also beginning to run. This realization brought him some anxiety. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and let out a breath. "I'll be giving you both charmed rings to be worn at all times. They'll be enchanted to immediately transport you to safety immediately, if you come under attack."

"What about my son?" Draco asked. He was surprised he'd beaten Hermione to this question but she nodded her agreement. Ron scoffed again.

"Do you need some water Weasley?" Draco drawled. "Seems like you have something stuck in your throat."

"Your presence here is absurd," Ron snapped. "You're the reason they're in this situation. _YOUR_ son?" Weasley laughed derisively, the sound completely devoid of humor. Draco had to steady himself. Ronald Weasley had always had a way of making his temper rise quite quickly. He swallowed it down. Along with the imminent need to vomit. They weren't in school anymore. Now, if Draco lost it he might beat him within an inch of his life. He shied away from that urge. He had never been a particularly kind individual…And although he didn't want to start now, he would for Hermione.

"He _is _my son," Draco said flatly.

"You're a low life. You look like shit. And you missed the first years of _your_ son's life because you were supposed to serve a life term in Azkaban. You're a murderer-" Draco was aware of this. He inwardly rolled his eyes.

"Ron," Harry began. He knew this wasn't the time, but his best friend unfortunately had no filter. Hermione was glaring at Ron…Draco felt a sneer playing on his lips.

"And Hermione is too good for you. How you managed-"

"Ron!" Harry said a bit louder . Ron was about to cross a line. Draco could feel it so he leaned back into the cushions and clasped his hands behind his head.

"-to shag her is beyond me. But you're insane to think you could _ever _land a woman like her."

"Pretty sure she's not too interested in married men either," Draco replied wiggling his bare ring finger at Weasley. Ron stuffed his hand in his lap, hiding his wedding band from view as he opened his mouth to retort, "I think you misunderstand my presence here Weasley," Draco spoke loudly over Ron, cutting him off momentarily. "I'm not here to sweep Hermione off her feet and all that bullshit. This is the real world. And you're right. I _am _all those things. Which you'd be wise not to forget-"

"Is that a threat?" Weasley snapped. Draco pushed on although he wanted to tell this ignorant man that he would bury him without a second thought.

"-BUT that doesn't change the fact that I'm the father of her child and I do care what happens to them. You really don't have to like it. I didn't need your permission to do it. And I don't need your permission to be here. Just hers," Draco said motioning to the mother of his child. She met his gaze steadily. He found it odd that she hadn't cut him off yet. In the past she would have slapped him already on the behalf of her best friend. He sensed the dynamic between them had shifted immensely.

"We all know he's just an heir to you," Ron laughed again. That word seemed oddly out of place to Draco. "It's too bad your bloodline couldn't have died off with _you._"

Hermione's mouth dropped. She was so angry her hands were shaking. Draco could feel energy rolling off of her like the purr of a large machine.

"He's my _son_," Draco repeated slowly since Ronald was particularly dense. He felt like telling Weasley he would do it again. That he would put twelve of his heirs in Hermione. And that it wasn't really any of Ron's concern who Hermione let fuck her and that clearly she had taken part in conceiving _his heir._. Enthusiastically. But that was extremely inappropriate and disrespectful to her so he bit his tongue. Hard. In the past he would have painted a crudely graphic picture for Weasley. He knew this wasn't necessary. He figured Weasley was probably doing enough of that all on his own.

"You need to leave Ronald. Please," Hermione's voice was low but it didn't hide the quiver. Everybody in the room could tell that this wasn't a request. "How fucking dare you insinuate that my son shouldn't exist. Merely because of who his father is. As if he had a choice."

"But _you_ did," Ron mumbled. Hermione clasped her hands together tightly. Draco had a feeling she was trying to restrain herself from slapping Weasley on behalf of their son.

Draco could see that she was hurt by Ron's words and that made him angry. Weasley didn't have a right to judge her. Ronald realized he had indeed gone too far.

"Hermione…" he began apologetically. There really wasn't any excuse or anything he could say to correct his mistake. She turned her face away from him.

"Fuck you," she muttered. Draco was a taken aback hearing her speak with such animosity. "Now we all know how you really feel. Thanks for clearing it up. You can go now."

Draco didn't feel triumphant or smug. He felt awful for her. Ron stood stiffly and approached the front door, staring sheepishly at her. Draco saw her swallow hard as she pointedly ignored him.

"Let me know if there's anything more I can do Harry," he said. Harry merely nodded. He wasn't sure what he should say. He had warned him to stop while he was ahead. He figured after that wonderful outburst, Hermione wouldn't be requiring Ron's services anymore. Ronald shut the door softly and was gone.

Hermione let out a breath and wiped at her eyes. Draco summoned a box of tissues and steered it through the air to her. Harry sighed, leaning against the doorway of Hermione's kitchen. He wasn't sure what Malfoy was playing at. He was wracking his brain trying to see if there was some kind of angle he couldn't see. There had to be. Why else would Malfoy be so civil to Hermione? Unless he really was trying to be a good person, although Harry found that unlikely. So what could he possibly want from her? Unless he just wanted to convince Hermione he was a fit father. Harry took Draco's physical appearance into consideration. The asshole looked unwell. Plain and simple. He really didn't look like he could be a fit father. But Harry would wait to discuss his thoughts with Hermione in private.

"Let's wrap this up then," Dunning said briskly, clapping his hands together.

Draco left Hermione's flat fifteen minutes later fitted with a ring that suspiciously resembled a wedding band. It was plain, silver, and didn't come off no matter how hard he pulled on it. This ring could measure his heart rate and somehow monitor his safety from head to toe. Hermione had a matching one that replaced a ring she'd already been given by the ministry to keep her safe. Turns out they were watching things a lot closer than Draco had initially thought. There was a huge chance they were probably using him as bait to bring the other Deatheaters out of hiding. No wonder he'd gotten out so easily. He was expendable. Why would the Ministry or the wizarding world care what happened to him? They hadn't anticipated that he would have ties to Hermione Granger.

He sighed. In a different life he would have exploited that to the fullest. But really he just felt like a piece of shit. They hadn't anticipated that releasing him would put one of their most famous war heroes in danger. Or else they wouldn't have done it. Draco shook his head. Assholes.

Hermione had left her home with Harry and Dunning to go fit Xavier with a ring of his own. All three rings were linked together. If one person got pulled out of a bad situation, they all did. Draco almost felt like he had a family. He really just should have stayed away from her. Even though he realized what it meant for her and his sometimes, Draco found himself feeling selfishly relieved it happened. Maybe he just didn't want to feel so alone.

He arrived at Jasper's a short time later to find that the place had been completely transformed. Draco sat on the couch and dug around for his stash.

"So what's going on here?" he asked. Jasper seemed to be preparing for some kind of party. Draco prepared his drugs but found that today it was more because he didn't want to be sick than wanting to get high. Well…he mostly didn't want to be sick and partly wanted to get high.

_Just call it what it is. _

He sighed and went about his routine, feeling tired. He was hopeless.

"Was your baby mama alright?" Jasper asked after a moment.

"Yeah. But she would have been better if she'd never run into me again," Draco muttered. He didn't want to vocalize that he would probably be much worse off mentally if he hadn't run into her again. It was selfish. It reminded him of your classic parasite. Your host doesn't need you, but you need your host. And he was just latching on for dear life. He could be better one day. He heard Weasley's irritating laughter run through his head.

"How does she feel about it all?" Jasper muttered. He had a cigarette dangling from his top lip as he attempted to position some very large speakers towards the center of his living room. His place was very large. Draco hadn't seen it all but from the looks of it, Jasper could fit a lot of people into the space provided him.

"I'm not too sure," Draco drawled. He shut his eyes for a moment, running his fingers through his hair. "I think she's worried. I might have some bad people after me. And if they're after me they might go after her and my son. So I guess we've been placed under surveillance. Which is probably for the best. For them. The Ministry doesn't give a shit about me. I have a suspicion the only reason they cut me a deal was to lead them to the rest of the _clan_," Draco spat the word.

"That's a tough break," Jasper said.

"I probably deserve it," Draco mumbled. "I appreciate you letting me crash here. Thanks for that. I should probably get out of your hair. Wouldn't want to bring any more of my shit down on you. You know?"

Jasper shrugged. "I can't die, mate," he said simply. "Believe me, I've tried. Not even the sun can do it anymore. A witch cursed me long ago. Can you believe that? It's true what they say about a woman scorned. Don't you forget it," Jasper chuckled. "You're more than welcome to stay around tonight," he said taking a drag from his cigarette. He was hooking up his sound system. "Maybe unwind a bit. I throw one hell of a party. And tonight it'll be an all you can use buffet if you get my meaning." Draco nodded, letting his head rest against the couch cushions. He would get up and leave if he knew what was good for him. Unfortunately, Jasper had him at buffet. "But if you're gonna stay you should give me a hand."

"What do you need me to do?" Draco asked.

"Wave your stick around and help me get this done faster," Jasper replied. Draco groaned inwardly and hoisted himself off the couch, pulling his wand out. Doing magic high could sometimes be a hassle. Especially when he had to actually concentrate.

"Where's your girl at?" Draco asked.

"She left this morning. Like packed her shit and left," Jasper said. "You're lucky you missed that one." Draco knew all too well how her type could be.

"Hopefully she got dressed first," Draco murmured. Jasper paused, staring at Draco over his rose tinted sunglasses. For a moment Draco didn't know if he'd offended him, until Jasper let out a howl of laughter. He clapped Draco hard on the back and Draco smirked a bit.

"He's got jokes!" Jasper teased.

The two of them then set to work.

**Later that Evening:**

It was about 9:00 in the evening when people started arriving. Draco had dozed off on the couch and awoke to Jasper talking to a man who was setting up a laptop on a table they had put between the speakers. Draco guessed it had something to do with music. He had another guy positioned at his bar, setting up for the night. Draco was astonished at how much liquor had magically materialized while he'd been out cold. Jasper appeared to have a lot of connections because both men seemed to be friends of his.

"Draco!" Jasper said cheerily when he realized he was awake. "Why don't you go freshen up? You can use my shower."

Draco just nodded and stood up slowly, grabbing his drugs as he went. He then wandered down the hallway until he found the bathroom. He figured Jasper had put a lot of work into his home. Merlin knew how long he'd actually been living here. Everything seemed to be refurbished and expensive. The shower itself had spouts everywhere. On each wall and in the ceiling. Draco figured if you had to live forever you might as well do it right. He stripped off his clothes, turned on the water, and climbed in. Before all the heads began shooting water at him from all directions he heard the music start playing. The bass was vibrating through the walls. He sighed. He wasn't feeling particularly social and he knew the crowd that would be coming tonight wouldn't be people he would want to associate with but it was better than rotting away in Pansy's bathroom. If anything, he could leave and get himself a room somewhere. That seemed to be ideal but nothing ever worked out as he planned it.

As Draco washed away the sweat and stress, his mind replayed the events off the day. He had wanted to text Hermione to see if her night had gone over without any hassles from creepy weirdos lurking outside of her flat, but he hadn't . Before he had left her home, Lucas Dunning had told him it would be in Hermione and Xavier's best interest if he kept contact to a minimal. At least until they figured out who was watching her. And him. But mostly her. Cause Draco didn't really care about himself in that regard. And Dunning probably didn't really care about him either. He felt a little down about it. It was like when he discovered his first broom hidden in his parent's closet. When he had asked about it he was told he couldn't have it until his birthday. Although Hermione and his son couldn't really be compared to a broomstick…the concept was the same. He discovered something good and was told he couldn't go near it. He had a feeling if he pushed the issue they could slap some charges on him and send him back to Azkaban if they wanted to. Child endangerment or something. Maybe even interfering with an investigation.

Draco rinsed himself off and stepped out of the shower, using his wand to dry off. He then went to put on his clothes, to discover some new ones had been placed on the sink, where he had left his old ones. Draco wondered when Jasper had come in. He hadn't heard anyone enter the bathroom. Perhaps it was a vampire thing. He had heard they could be silent creatures if they wanted to be. He didn't know if Jasper should worry him or not. He seemed to be alright but Draco didn't want to make assumptions. It just felt good to know someone who was different like him. And who was aware of Draco's kind of different. There were rules about telling muggles about magic. There weren't rules about talking to a vampire. They were classified as magical just like witches and wizards. But not human.

Either way Jasper had really only made friendly advances in Draco's opinion. He'd said he'd had friends who were wizards. And Draco vaguely remembered him saying something about being cursed by a witch? Must have been a bad witch. He just hoped Jasper didn't harbor any secret vendettas against magical folk like him. His instincts weren't telling him to run, but that could easily be the vampire charm. They had lots of ways of appearing more human than they were… Or so he'd been told. To be safe, Draco would probably stay for a bit to be polite and long enough to stock up on some free drugs, and then he would leave. Draco stared at hard at himself in the mirror as he repeated his plan.

_Stay long enough to be polite and take as many drugs as possible. _

Draco got dressed, fixed in the bathroom, and joined the party. He felt better than he had all day.

**Two Hours Later: **

Draco was blown. He was so high he could barely think straight, which was how he liked to be. He sat on the couch he also liked to sleep on. There was a coffee table in front of him full of drugs in all forms. Pills, powder, tar. It was all there. And it seemed to periodically refill. He didn't realize it but there was an entrance fee to this party. He figured Jasper could afford to throw away all these drugs if he wanted to. But what was the point of that? Party for a profit. Everyone was pitching and everyone was high. It was a good time.

There was a girl next to Draco talking his ear off. Draco had no idea what she was talking about but he indulged her anyway. Jasper came by the table with another bowl of coke. Draco was surprised that the uppers were going faster than the downers. He decided it was because they'd want the downers later when they wanted to go to sleep. More for him.

"Having a good time?" Jasper asked loudly over the music. He had had Draco put a silencing charm around his entire home earlier. As to not disturb the neighbors.

"I don't even know anymore," Draco yelled back. He heard a laugh escape him and was startled for a moment cause he hadn't felt it come out. He blinked and tried to focus on Jasper. "Listen, thanks for everything," Draco said. He pushed some money into Jasper's hand. "I appreciate it."

"You've said that mate!" Jasper laughed pushing Draco's money back into his hand. The girl next to Draco snorted a huge line off of the coffee table. Draco was momentarily worried about her until she turned around triumphantly, raising her hands in the air.

"I did it!" she squealed.

"You did it!" Draco said back, equally enthusiastically. She then leaned forward and locked her lips onto his. Draco was surprised at the sudden contact and broke it as soon as he realized she had her tongue in his mouth.

"Have you met my friend?" he yelled, motioning to Jasper. Jasper was smiling a shark tooth grin that Draco hadn't seen before.

"No!" she said happily. "I'm Rita. Hi Jasper," she said with a small seductive grin. She put her hand out and Jasper kissed it.

"Would you like to see the balcony?" Jasper asked motioning to the sliding glass doors in his living room.

"Definitely," she said. Jasper led her away, waggling his eyebrows at Draco as he went. That had been incredibly easy. Draco leaned back into the couch and shut his eyes. He let the bass vibrate up through his body and found he was grinding his teeth. He had a feeling he had mixed too many substances together. He felt somebody sit down next to him and opened his eyes to find Pansy glaring at him.

"Fancy seeing you here," she snapped. Draco wanted to shut his eyes again and sink into the couch. He glanced at Jasper who had his face buried in the girl's neck on the balcony. At first glance anyone would have thought they were fooling around. Draco knew better. The girl was limply draped around Jasper, her hands dangling over his shoulders. She was clearly unconscious. He felt a tad bit guilty for pushing her off on Jasper until Jasper hoisted her over his shoulder and brought the girl back into the house.

"So you want to explain what the fuck happened Draco?" Pansy yelled over the music.

"Not really," Draco said plainly. He shrugged. She stared at him in complete disbelief.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for days!" she yelled. "The least you could have done is replied!"

Jasper dropped the limp girl on the sofa next to Draco's.

"She's gonna have one hell of a hangover when she wakes up," he said jokingly until he looked up and saw Draco's face. It was clear that the party was over for the blonde. Jasper frowned as he realized it was Pansy sitting next to him on the couch looking quite angry. His eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth turned down.

"So what? You were just going to leave and not say anything?" Pansy yelled, completely ignoring Jasper. The party went on around them.

"Hey!" Jasper said cutting in. "Pansy, love! Good to see you! It's a party! Why don't get lit and relax?"

"Has he been here this entire time?" Pansy asked Jasper.

"Can you stop?" Draco yelled. He grabbed Pansy's arm and hoisted her off the couch. Jasper stood back as Draco dragged her out of the living room and down the hallway until he found an empty bedroom. He threw her in and slammed the door behind him.

A/N: I'm aware there's a few mistakes in this chapter. I plan to fix them asap. But I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the follows and the reviews. I'm writing this on my phone on a tiny screen and the auto correct is driving me crazy. Thanks for sticking with me. :)


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